President Pranab Mukherjee said that India was the fastest growing country in the world in civil aviation sector with an annual growth rate of 14 per cent.
Speaking after formally inaugurating the International Aviation Exhibition and Conference India Aviation 2016 at the Begumpet Airport at Hyderabad on Wednesday President said that India presently stood at 8th place in the world in civil aviation and by 2022 it will reach number 3.
The phenomenal growth of middle class whose income had increased by 60 per cent was contributing to the growth of civil aviation sector, he added. By 2020 the civil aviation organisations will serve 421 million people.
Impressive and colourful opening ceremony of India Aviation was also attended by the governor ESl Narasimhan, union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, policy makers, experts and industry leaders including Ahmad Hasham Khoorey of Emirates, and Air India Chairman and managing director Ashwani lohani.
250 delegates from across the world including officials from 12 countries and 50 companies are participating in the conference with focus on India as manufacturing hub for civil aviation sector.
Breathtaking aerobatic display by the British flyers led by Mark Jefferies added colour and excitement to the opening ceremony.
30 static aircrafts including the recently launched twin aisle Air Bus A350 were part of the exhibition. Qatar Airways, one of the prominent airlines from Gulf participating in the exhibition has brought the gigantic aircraft for the maiden display in India.
This is the fifth edition of the biennial event with Hyderabad as the permanent venue. The event jointly organised by the union ministry for civil aviation and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry has emerged as a premier and the biggest platform of its kind for the civil aviation sector.
Meanwhile Dubai based Emirates has expressed hope that it’s efforts to expand its operations in India will bear fruits “very soon”. Emirates is one of the important airlines participating in the show.
Ahmad Hashem Khoorey, senior Vice President of Emirates told the media on the sidelines of India Aviation 2016 that the negotiations for more seats were on the fast track.
“We have been given 2000 plus seats to operate from Mumbai in 2014 that gave us capability to operate A 380,” Khoorey said.
“The bilateral talks are on a fast track after Indian prime minister’s visit to UAE last year. We hope that we will have something very soon,” he added.
Presently Emirates is operating one A380 aircraft on Mumbai-Dubai route and was planning to start more such flights. Emirates has put Airbus A 380 on display at the exhibition to show case the facilities it can extend to its passengers.
Essa Suleiman Ahmed, Vice President, India and Nepal operations of Emirates was optimistic about the future of Airlines operations in the region.
“We bring the A 380 to show our commitment to Hyderabad air show as well. It is a strong flagship carrier for emirates and it is a beautiful product”, he said adding that it will fly A380 on all commercially viable routes.