By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS
Dubai : Hyderabad will play host in October next year to a new biennial air show that will be devoted exclusively to civilian aircraft.
“Just as the ministry of defence holds the defence air show in Bangalore, we are launching the Hyderabad air show solely to showcase civilian aircraft. The inaugural event, India Aviation 2008, will be held Oct 15-18, 2008,” Arun Mishra, joint secretary of India’s ministry for civil aviation, announced at a press conference at the Dubai Airshow here Sunday.
He said the new event is being held to exploit the booming Indian aviation sector.
“With air travel becoming a popular and cheaper option, the civil aviation sector in India is experiencing fast growth. During 2006-07, total passenger traffic grew at 27.2 percent while the cargo traffic grew by 11.2 percent,” Mishra said.
The Hyderabad air show is being organized by the civil aviation ministry jointly with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), with Farnborough International of Britain as the overseas partner.
The Airports Authority of India, Air India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Pawan Hans Helicopters are the other organizations supporting the event.
Giving a brief outline of the event, Mishra said that there would be chalets, customer demonstration flights, aerobatics and static display of aircraft.
The exhibitors profile includes aircraft, aircraft machinery and equipment, aircraft interior, airlines, airline services and air cargo, education, training and skill development, airport infrastructure developers and airport city side developers.
“In India, we have a very good railway network and 13 million people travel by the railways everyday. For airlines, the number is around 75,000. So, even if we are able to wean away 10 percent of the rail travellers, you can imagine the opportunity that exists there,” he said.
Asked why Hyderabad has been chosen as the venue, Rajan Kohli, deputy secretary general of Ficci, told IANS, “Both Delhi and Mumbai airports are undergoing renovation. Besides, Hyderabad has got very strong infrastructure with world-class conference centres, hotels and flight connectivity with various parts of the world. The city will be the permanent venue for this biennial event.”
India at present has only 250 aircraft, but, according to estimates, there is a market for 500 general aviation aircraft by 2020 and this may even reach 1,000, including replacement of the current fleet. This presents a business opportunity of $80 billion.
According to Kohli, most players in the Indian aviation industry have indicated aggressive fleet acquisition plans to expand their fleet by at least 250 aircraft.
Farnborough International managing director Trevor Sidebottom, explaining the role of his firm in the Hyderabad show, said, “We already partner India’s defence ministry for the Bangalore air show. This is an extension of that partnership. We will promote the (Hyderabad) event internationally.”
India’s Consul General in Dubai Venu Rajamony was also present at the press conference.