India plans to set up global aviation hubs, leveraging booming traffic

India is keen to leverage its booming international passenger traffic to set up global aviation hubs in the country, Mint reported on Wednesday, citing civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

With a significant volume of traffic, including around 155 million domestic and 60 million international passengers, the government is exploring the creation of global aviation hubs, starting with a pilot project in Delhi.

The government is also looking to grant airlines–both international and domestic–more flying rights for so-called point-to-point traffic, with New Delhi reportedly not being in favor of offering more flying rights to countries that have tapped traffic from India to set up their own aviation hubs.

Direct point-to-point flights enable passengers to travel straight to their destination without the need for stopovers, unlike the hub-and-spoke model where travelers are flown from smaller ‘spoke’ airports to a central ‘hub’ airport and then transferred to flights heading to other hubs.

“I am more than happy for any country to come in and get point-point traffic beyond five- six hour’s flying radius,” Scindia said.

The change in government thinking comes as Indian airlines such as Air India and IndiGo are pushing ahead with their international expansion on the back of a growing number of air passengers.

Global aviation hubs ensure immediate connectivity between domestic and international flights to reduce travel time.

Scindia said that the civil aviation ministry is collaborating with the finance, tourism, external affairs, and home ministries to draft a comprehensive plan and delineate responsibilities.

Given the fast recovery in domestic aviation, India’s booming aviation market is attracting global airlines. Air traffic in December crossed pre-covid levels to touch a record 13.8 million passengers, data showed.