Air passenger traffic expected to reach 1 billion mark in coming years: Civil Aviation Minister

Union Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has informed in Lok Sabha that India’s civil aviation sector is experiencing dynamic growth and air passenger traffic on an annual basis is expected to touch 1 billion in the coming years. Currently, the number of air passengers on an annual basis is around 345 million. He also informed that government has taken a decision to privatise six airports, including at Lucknow and Ahmedabad. Out of the six, three have been awarded to Adani group and issues related to two others have been resolved. Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved leasing out Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru airports to Adani group.

In 2018, the government decided to lease out airports at Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Mangaluru and Thiruvanathapuram. All the six airports were won through bidding by Adani group.