Air passenger demand up by 57% in 2016-17: Jayant Sinha

Domestic demand rose 68.2%, while international traffic surged 27.2% in the year ending March 2017, compared to 2013-14: Sinha

Air passenger demand in the country grew by 56.9 per cent in 2016-17 compared to 2013-14, junior civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Domestic demand rose 68.2 per cent, while international traffic surged 27.2 per cent in the year ending March 2017, compared to 2013-14, he said.

The state-controlled Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages 125 airports, including 11 international aerodromes, and provides air traffic management services.

To another question, Sinha said that the AAI has planned to invest Rs 201.78 billion between 2016-17 and 2021-22 — Rs 169.6 billion for engineering/IT works and Rs 32.1 billion for air navigation services equipment.