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India Positioned as Global Aviation Transit Hub: Minister Ram Mohan Naidu

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu emphasized India's geographical advantage in becoming a global aviation transit hub. He outlined the hub-and-spoke strategy to connect smaller cities with international destinations through major airports. Currently, 35% of international passengers from India transit through foreign hubs like Dubai and Singapore. The government aims to develop Indian hubs including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore to capture this transfer traffic.

Key Points: India's Natural Advantage for Global Aviation Hub

  • India's location offers natural advantage for aviation transit hub
  • Hub-and-spoke model to connect Tier-II/III airports internationally
  • 35% of international passengers currently transit via foreign hubs
  • Delhi Airport handles 50% of northern region traffic, 50,000 daily transfers
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India offers natural advantage to become global aviation transit hub: Ram Mohan Naidu

India's geographical location offers a natural advantage to become a global aviation transit hub, says Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, outlining the hub-and-spoke strategy.

"At present, nearly 35 per cent of international passengers travelling from India transit through foreign hubs such as Dubai, London and Singapore. Our aim is to reverse this trend by developing globally competitive Indian hubs - Ram Mohan Naidu"

New Delhi, April 24

India's unique geographical location between the eastern and western hemispheres provides a natural advantage in emerging as a global transit hub, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has stressed.

He said that the country has developed the strategy after extensive deliberations with all the stakeholders.

"I am deeply grateful to Home Minister Amit Shah for his active support in advancing the proposal," said Naidu while reviewing the readiness of Delhi Airport for the implementation of hub-and-spoke operations.

He chaired a high-level meeting with all key stakeholders at the airport.

The National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016, formulated under the decisive and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laid out a clear roadmap for positioning India as an aviation hub of choice for Indian passengers by 2030 and for the world by 2047.

The government has developed an International Aviation Hub Strategy, under which several key measures have been undertaken.

These include adopting a calibrated approach in granting Points of Call to foreign carriers, particularly for non-metro destinations, renegotiating bilateral agreements in a manner that strengthens Indian carriers and promotes domestic hubs and liberalising domestic code-share arrangements to enable Indian airlines to expand their global reach, according to Civil Aviation Ministry.

Elaborating on the significance of the hub-and-spoke model, the Minister stated that it will enable seamless connectivity between Tier-II and Tier-III airports developed through visionary UDAN scheme of PM Modi and the international destinations.

He noted that while the passengers will benefit from reduced travel time, there will also be optimal utilisation of the infrastructure already developed across the country.

"At present, nearly 35 per cent of international passengers travelling from India transit through foreign hubs such as Dubai, London and Singapore. Our aim is to reverse this trend by developing globally competitive Indian hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai," said the minister.

Delhi Airport stands out with its capacity exceeding 100 million passengers annually, handling nearly 50 per cent of the total passenger traffic in the northern region and managing around 50,000 daily transfers, thereby positioning itself as a natural hub airport, the minister added.

The hub-and-spoke strategy represent a shift in India's aviation landscape from being primarily an end-destination market to evolving into a global transit hub, thereby allowing Indian airports to capture a substantial share of transfer traffic that is currently routed through foreign hubs.

Under the hub-and-spoke model, passengers arriving from various smaller cities will be consolidated in a coordinated manner and routed through major hub airports such as Delhi for onward international connections.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sneha F
Great vision but let's be realistic. Airlines like IndiGo and Air India need to improve their on-time performance and baggage handling before we can become a global hub. Also, visa-on-arrival for transit passengers is a must! 🛫
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Rajesh Q
The UDAN scheme connecting smaller cities is a game changer. I recently flew from Gorakhpur to Delhi and onward to Bangkok - seamless! But why focus only on Delhi? Mumbai and Bangalore also need expansion. Private airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore are doing good work.
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Vikram M
Sir, the idea is solid but we need to address the elephant in the room - high airport charges and taxes. Dubai thrives because of zero tax environment. If we want to compete, we need smart tax policies and world-class lounges. Also, immigration queues at Indian airports are still a joke. 😤
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Kavya N
As someone who travels frequently for work, I love this! Last month I flew from Patna to Delhi then to New York. Instead of going via Doha, imagine connecting directly through Delhi. But please improve the airport Wi-Fi and duty-free shopping - compare it to Changi or Dubai, we have a long way to go.
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James A
Interesting strategy from an economics perspective. Using geographical advantage and domestic network to capture transit traffic makes sense. But the real test will be execution - check-in connectivity, baggage transfer protocols, and passenger experience. If India can pull this off, it's a massive win for global aviation.

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