India set to become third-largest aviation market in the world: Vice President
New Delhi, November 3: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that India is witnessing a high-growth trajectory and set to become the third-largest aviation market in the world in terms of passengers by 2026. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 2nd Aero Expo India 2017.
The Vice President said that India became the world’s fastest growing domestic travel market for the 22nd time in a row recording a 26.6 per cent year-on-year growth in January 2017, according to IATA. He further said that while there is a downward trend in accidents, there cannot be any complacency and safety will have to remain the topmost priority of aviation authorities and experts.
The Vice President expressed his happiness on UDAN scheme seeks to promote regional connectivity by serving the un-served and under-served airports. Connecting Tier-II cities, pilgrim towns and historic places with the wider air routes is important for boosting tourism and business travel, he added.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has mentioned in its 2017 edition that accident statistics over the last five years in the world show a decrease in both the number of accidents as well as accident rate.
In 2016, the downward trend continued with 75 accidents reported, representing an 18 per cent decrease from 2015. It was mentioned that reduction in accident rate of 2.1 per million departures is the lowest ever.