Context: A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operated by Air India crashed in Gujarat, killing 242 people, despite India’s recent leap in aviation safety rankings (48th in 2022, up from 102nd in 2018).
About India Aviation Sector:
- Third-largest domestic aviation market globally (after USA and China), with total air passengers reaching 37.6 crore in FY24 (15% YoY growth).
- Operational airports increased from 74 (2014) to 157 (2024) and goal of 350–400 airports by 2047.
- UDAN Scheme (2016) improved air connectivity in Tier 2/3 cities and 583 routes, 86 airports, 2.8 lakh flights, and 1.43 crore passengers served under it.
- Women pilots at 15% in India, much above global average of 5%.
- Carbon neutrality efforts: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru airports awarded ACI Level 4+ accreditation.
- Aviation safety ranking improved: From 102 (2018) to 48 (2022) in ICAO’s Effective Implementation (EI) audit with an 85.49% score, above China, Israel, Turkey.
Relevance in UPSC Exam:
- GS Paper 3 – Infrastructure: Includes airports and civil aviation as core to economic development and regional connectivity.
- GS Paper 2 – Governance: Policy schemes like UDAN and disaster response frameworks (e.g., AAIB crash investigation) link governance to service delivery.
NOTE: These are positive arguments for the aviation sector in India. This is a probable question for Mains 2025 due to the unfortunate Ahmedabad air crash. We will soon cover the overall issues in the aviation sector in the coming days. For now, please note down these important data points.
