1. In an increasingly globalised economy, air transport is a vital element of the country’s transport infrastructure. The impact of civil aviation as a sector on the general economic activity has been studied systematically and documented for some of the Western developed countries. By itself, the Civil Aviation Sector contributes significantly to the process of development by generating employment opportunities directly and indirectly besides facilitating enhancement of productivity and efficiency in the movement of goods and services. Civil Aviation is a key infrastructure sector that facilitates the growth of business, trade and tourism, with significant multiplier effects across the economy.
2. Doubtlessly, air transport has contributed to the rapid growth in India’s international trade in recent decades by offering a reliable and faster mode of transport services to move products and personnel across long distances. Therefore, sustaining a viable aviation industry is vital if the economy is to reap the full benefits of the future growth in foreign trade and investment. Industries that rely most heavily on air transport for their international freight shipments include high growth sectors such as pharmaceuticals, office equipment and electronic equipment sectors besides those that have high value to weight products.
3. Thus, it has been observed that high growth sectors in emerging markets are heavily dependent on the services of the aviation industry. Increased air connectivity enables manufacturing enterprises to exploit the speed and reliability of air transport to ship components across firms that are based in different and distant locations thereby minimizing the inventory cost. Countries with higher connectivity in general are stated to be more successful at attracting Foreign Direct Investment. Role of air transport is crucial for the development of Tourism industry. Tourism makes a large and growing