India's aircraft fleet size expected to double in 5 years, says minister

India's aviation sector is expanding rapidly, and its overall fleet size is expected to almost double in the next five years, said Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Speaking at industry body Assocham's CEOs Roundtable on Tuesday, Scindia said:

"In five years we are looking at 1,200 fleet size in the country, which will be almost double of the current number of 700 aircraft."

Scindia was positive that the Indian aviation sector would touch 400 million passengers annually in 7-10 years, from the current 200 million.

Further, the minister stressed on India becoming an international hub, for which the sector needs to add wide-body aircraft, suited to Indian skies.

"We need wide-body aircraft in the country to become an international hub, that is why the Ministry of Civil Aviation is working seriously on it, and we have engaged with the professionals to make India an international hub in aviation," Scindia said.

Growth in the aviation sector, in terms of India's Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is 10 per cent annually, he explained.

On the question of recruitment of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) which are now low in strength, Scindia promised to "soon ... recruit more than 300 ATCOs by the end of this year".

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