Strengthening of infrastructure has to be given higher priority: Boeing India President Salil Gupte

NEW-DELHI: India's aviation market is witnessing tremendous changes. Air India has placed an order to purchase 470 aircraft. IndiGo is also preparing to place orders for purchase of new aircrafts. In such a case, a large number of pilots and mechanics will be required for these planes. American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has said that India will need 31,000 pilots and 26,000 mechanics in the next 20 years.

Boeing India President Salil Gupte said that the South Asian region is going to be the fastest growing aviation market in the next 20 years. In such a scenario, India would need 31,000 pilots to fly the planes and 26,000 mechanics to maintain the planes. He said that in view of the growth of air traffic in India, strengthening of infrastructure has to be given higher priority. This includes the needs of pilots and mechanics along with the development of airports.

Recently, Boeing said in its report that till 2040, India's air traffic will show an annual growth rate of 7 percent. Salil Gupte said that the demand for air travel after coming out of the Corona epidemic has surprised the whole world. He said that the global financial crisis is not going to have any impact on the growth of air travel.

In view of the increasing demand for air travel, the country's domestic airlines are going to order more than 1100 new aircraft in the coming days. Reportedly, Tata Group has ordered 470 new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus and the company has an option to order 370 more aircraft in addition. Airlines may have to order 2210 new aircraft to meet growing demand for air travel in India. Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and Acasa have a total of 1,115 aircrafts on order.