While 2020 was a catastrophic year for the Indian aviation industry, 2021 brought about hope in the form of life-saving vaccines. Throughout 2021, we saw a steady growth of aircraft traffic, passenger volumes and most importantly, employment opportunities in the Indian aviation industry.
Fast forward to 2022, the Indian aviation industry is all ready for a mammoth expansion. Be it pre COVID passenger volumes, easing of restrictions, wide vaccination coverage, new airlines, Indian aviation is no short of reasons to make a huge leap in 2022. Let us know how will 2022 be an instrumental year for Indian aviation.
Vaccination Coverage
India administered over 150 crore doses of COVID vaccines at the time of writing this article. Over 90 per cent of the country has now received at least one dose of the life-saving vaccine. Increased vaccination rate has brought about normalcy in every aspect of life including travelling. Passenger numbers have steadily grown over the months only signalling a strong recovery.
Easing Restrictions
The fear of COVID wasn’t only the reason people prevented travelling. Pre-departure RT-PCR’s, strict screening measures at the airport, Increased regulatory requirements (especially during international travel), only added to passenger troubles. These requirements haven’t completely been scrapped, but with time, seemed to have streamlined and eased. Easing restrictions have only brought back passenger volumes.
Aircraft Orders
Even before we speak about new airlines, existing Indian airlines already have a huge order book. Despite the pandemic, IndiGo had taken deliveries of 44 aircraft in 2020, the largest delivery for Airbus in 2020. All Indian airlines together have an order book of over 700 aircraft to be delivered in the next half-decade. These aircraft orders are significantly huge and maximum deliveries are expected in 2022 to make up with the increasing travel demand.
New Owners, New Airlines
Be it the sale of Air India, the revival of Jet Airways or the take-off of Akasa Air, Indian aviation is set to see strong headwinds. New airlines mean more options to customers, more aircraft orders and deliveries, and more opportunities for people aspiring to a profession in aviation. While Akasa air has ordered 72 737Max aircraft, we expect no less from the TATA acquired Air India and Jet Airways 2.0. 2022 would definitely bring about the much-needed revamp to get India back on track to become the world’s fastest-growing Aviation Industry.
What 2022 means for employment in the Aviation Industry?
2022 seems to be one of the most optimistic years for Indian aviation after a decade. Large order book of the existing airlines coupled with two new airlines and the revamp of the Maharaja has kept the entire world observant of this new phase of Indian aviation. We are highly optimistic to see opportunities raining across every sector in the years to come.
What are your thoughts on the future of Indian Aviation? Do you think 2022 would be a kick-start for Indian Aviation? For more latest updates, follow AERONEFS
