The most attractive place for the residents of Kishangarh, a city located in the center of India, is not its 16th-century royal castle in frank abandon nor its world-famous marble market. Today’s attraction is the terminus of the Kishangarh airport, a small low-rise town that offers a new gateway to the world.
Traveling by plane from the dusty city has become cheaper than renting a car. Devi Singh, a 77-year-old retired soldier, tells his friends in front of a cup of tea on a recent morning. The example Devi shares with his friends refers to the round trip flight to New York for only $ 35. “Even street sweepers can afford to fly,” he said.
Kishangarh is one of 34 airports, which has been inaugurated in the last 18 months in India, whose aviation sector has grown exponentially as a result of economic growth.
In September, the civil aviation minister said that $ 60 billion has been budgeted to build 100 more airports during the next 10 to 15 years.
Millions of Indians who see improvement in their incomes decide to travel by plane for the first time, the country strives to transform the colonial era airstrips into luxurious airports, while airlines renew their fleet of planes and hire foreign pilots.
“In the 70 years since independence, only 400 aircraft have been used,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inaugurating an airport in the Himalayas in Pakyong last September, the second inauguration in the month. “Only in the last year, airlines have ordered 1,000 new aircraft .”
In less than a blink, the Indian aviation market has become a giant. In October, its airlines marked 48 consecutive months of double-digit traffic growth, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
By 2024, according to IATA estimates, India will be located only behind China and the United States in terms of air traffic.
“20 years ago, the Indian market was so tiny that you barely noticed it existed,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of sales for commercial aircraft in Asia Pacific and India. “In the near future, we believe that one in every 20 aircraft will be sold to India.”
Positive externality: The marble business the high demand for airports responds to the economic and industrial protagonism of second and third-level cities, such as Kishangarh.
In the 1990s, small marble companies managed by a family became multinational corporations, generating significant wealth that reached the entire population. Although it retains a quiet atmosphere typical of a small city, Kishangarh attracts the wives of billionaires, cricket champions and television stars, in search of marble to decorate their respective houses, temples or shopping centers.
Now they arrive in private planes, rented helicopters, by train or in their cars.
Shareholders anticipate that the new air connection to Delhi will bring even more customers who want to buy marble tiles for walls and floors. According to Suresh Tak, president of the association of marble factories in Kishangarh, a single flight of 78 passengers should attract an additional income of $ 400,000 per day.
Two weeks after the first commercial flight to cover the aforementioned route began, the inhabitants of Kishangarh called for the creation of new routes. “What we really need now is a flight to Mumbai,” said one of Devi Singh’s friends, drinking tea.
“No, we want Kishangarh to go to Jaipur in 15 minutes,” said another.
The increase in passenger demand would imply a similar proportion in terms of airline revenues; However, the competition is intense and the price of fuel oil is high, so ticket prices do not generate much profit.
Risk of turbulence “The projection of India as the third-largest aviation market in the world could enter a zone of turbulence if the infrastructure stops,” said aviation journalist Neelam Matthews.
In July, the prices of the shares of InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of India’s largest airline, IndiGo, fell 10% after the company announced a 97% drop in net profits in the quarterly results on the same quarter of the previous year.
SpiceJet, another of the big operators, announced net losses of 5 million dollars in its June quarter.
Despite the cash crisis, large airlines are under pressure from the government to expand services, even on financially risky routes.
In 2017, Modi launched the Regional Connectivity Plan, which aims to connect small Indian cities through aviation subsidized by the state.
The program underpins the transportation infrastructure that also includes a $ 17 billion bullet train and 53,000 miles of highway construction, a testament to India’s modernity as it struggles to become a global superpower.
Disorderly growth has caused cases of failure. Air Deccan and Air Odisha canceled more than half of their flights in September, according to the General Directorate of Civil Aviation. The airport of Jharsuguda had to close two weeks after its inauguration.
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