-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Goanetters annual meet in Goa is scheduled for Dec 27, 2005 @ 4pm | | | |The Riviera Opposite Hotel Mandovi, Panjim (near Ferry Jetty/Riverfront)| | Attending.......drop a line to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fear of flying DNA Monday, December 26, 2005 23:05 IST
These are the best of times for flying in India. These are also bad times to be in a plane. The aviation industry in India is booming and in 2003-04 a record number of 15.7 million people flew in airplanes, 12.5 percent more than in the previous year. This year, within the overall expected GDP growth rate of eight per cent, the aviation sector is likely to grow at a stunning 20 per cent. For many years, the Paris air show had the odd official from the ministry of civil aviation as the only Indian presence. It was a junket at best. This year has changed all that. The order list from India is astonishing. Indian Airlines and Air India placed orders for aircraft worth US $3 billion, Jet Airways pitched in with $2.8 billion, Kingfisher forked out $3 billion and, as if all this was not good enough, a little known Gurgaon-based travel firm, Interglobe, placed an order for a whopping $6.5 billion. So in the next three years Indian skies will have lots of new airplanes. And new planes can't just stay up in the sky, they have to land. The worry is that all these new birds may have nowhere to land. A Planning Commission estimate puts the cost of refurbishing 25 of the country's top airports at a whopping Rs40,000 crore. The two major airports-in Delhi and Mumbai-are stuck in urgent need of massive upgradation, preferably through privatisation. They are the first points of call for foreigners coming to India but are grimy calling cards for showcasing the country. A large part of the growth in air travel has come from flyers who take advantage of low cost flights. These at times offer tickets at Rs499, a cost equivalent of getting to the airport and back in a taxi cab. A low cost flyer, however, often takes big risks. Many low cost airlines have not put money in training their pilots to avail of the instrument landing system technology that is critical to cut through bad weather and visibility. Massive delays and inconveniences are now routine, with morning delays spilling into the evening to create a logjam. Turbulence lies ahead for Indian aviation and it is not just a blip on the radar. Bad airport infrastructure is akin to a gathering storm that could take with it not just the aviation sector but the entire economy, and with it the nation's optimism, into rough weather. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
