The travel industry believes the Centre’s ambitious plan to increase air travel among Indians by developing unutilised airports will boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and also lead to an uptick in domestic tourism.
This is while the aviation industry is still awaiting the fine print of the Regional Connectivity Scheme that was unveiled under the Civil Aviation Policy.
The Centre aims to convert unutilised airstrips into no-frills airports. It has also proposed a cap of ₹2,500 for one-hour flights connecting unserved airports — something the aviation industry is still trying to decipher.
Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head, Expedia in India, said: “Capping air fare at ₹2,500 will give a huge boost to domestic travel. It will also see a lot of traction towards air travel from tier II and III cities as regional connectivity will strengthen and will also help SMEs in these segments to grow.”
At present, out of 125 airports and airstrips in the country, as many as 78 are connected by commercial flights. If the Centre manages to execute the scheme with the cooperation of States, many destinations, such as Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Bareilly and Panna, could see flights operate from their airstrips.
“The scheme will impact the flow of tourism towards cities like Gaya, Ujjain, Surat, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar, as connectivity to these places will become better,” Ahluwalia said. “It will also help boost international travel as these sectors will work as feeders into main hubs for outbound flights.”
Mining hubsEven mining and other industrial hubs, such as Bilaspur, Gondia and Jharsuguda, could become better connected with the development of their airstrips.
Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com, said: “The travel ecosystem will definitely see a change as we are expecting a considerable shift from first class rail travellers and a considerable percentage of road travellers who would enjoy the convenience of travelling by air and saving on time.”
The policy is also being seen as a solution to the infrastructure problem that has been acting as a deterrent to tourism in tier II and III cities. “While the airlines will face challenges due to capping, the travel sector will see more cities becoming tourism hubs,” Dhall added.
Inputs from Debabrata Das