a)      Dr. Nasim Zaidi, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation at the inaugural session stated that around 3.2 million aircrafts are expected in Indian skies, unfolding a business and investment opportunity of more than USD 130 billion by 2020.

b)     Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman, CII National Committee on Civil Aviation & Chairman, Kingfisher Airline Limited,   briefly stated about the performance of the Aviation Sector in the country over last decade and specifically highlighted the need to bring down the tariff structure on ATF to improve the financial health of aviation companies.

c)      Mr. Shyam Chetty, Acting Director, National Aerospace Laboratories Limited highlighted about the recent innovations in Aeronautics Technology in the country and focused on areas where maximum development is going to take place.

d)     Mr. Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing International Corporation India Private Limited spoke about the 787 dreamliner which is expected to be 20% more fuel efficient.

e)    The Conference had close to 250 participants from the industry who felt that interaction had served as a platform for providing latest happenings in the Aviation Sector.

India, with passenger base of 143 million and freight volume of 2.3 million tones, has become one of the largest aviation markets in the world. According to projections, over the next 20 years the Indian market would require 1130 commercial aircrafts valued at approximately US$ 130 billion.  

Growing Airlines Industry: Riding on the strong growth in the aviation sector, the airlines have also grown manifold. While the number of scheduled passenger airlines has grown to 14, there are 70 airlines that operate in and out of India today.    What is notable & revolutionary is the advent and success of low cost airlines which have captured almost 40% of the domestic passenger market within a few years time.

Expanding Airport Capacity: On the other hand to cater to the growing needs, airport sector has gone through a major transformation in India.  The number of operational airports has increased from 50 in 2000 to 82 in 2010.  The handling capacity of airports has grown tremendously to 235 million and cargo to 4.5 million currently.   

New landmark airports;  T3 terminal at New Delhi (the 8th largest passenger terminal in the world), upgraded Mumbai Airport, Greenfield airports in Bangalore, Hyderabad & Cochin & development of non-metro airports, are the firm indicators that India is ready to cater not only to the growing Indian traffic but also to the global traffic.

Emerging Opportunities : Buoyed by the surge in aviation industry, the stage is all set for growth in Airport Infrastructure,  Aeronautics – aircraft, component manufacturing, maintenance services;  Cargo & Freight, Technology & Innovation, IT Solutions to Enhance & Improve Travel Experience, Engineering & Design, E-Freight; Ground Handling, ATM, In-flight Products, etc.

Keeping focus on these areas, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised National Conference on Civil Aviation.

The Conference had plenary sessions covering:

1-     Managing Safe and Secure Aviation Growth.

2-     Innovation in Aviation.

3-     Airport Infrastructure – The Emerging Landscape

The well attended conference attracted speakers of National and International repute. Some of the eminent speakers were from Boeing International Corporation India Private Limited, Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd, Blue Dart Aviation Ltd, AFL Private Limited, IATA, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, FedEx, Amadeus, and Bombardier Aerospace.

Bird Group, Bombardier ,Celebi Ground Handling, GVK and CSC were the sponsors of the conference