The country, which is the third largest domestic air travel market in the world, is estimated to see an investment of $25 billion in the next decade in the airports sector, Morgan Stanley in a recent report said, adding that through the UDAN scheme the government is bringing small cities and towns on a air traffic radar. By doing so, it is taking the right step to increase connectivity and also boost utilization of airports, thereby helping them becoming more profitable. The report said the share of air travel in air and rail travel combined in India will grow to 15.2% by 2027 from 7.9% currently. “India's domestic air passenger traffic reached 100 million in 2016, behind only that of the US (719 million) and China (436 million) and ahead of Japan (97 million). The firm lauded the government’s regional connectivity scheme as a “key catalyst for growth“, stated executive director at Morgan Stanley and author of the report, Binay Singh. Through UDAN, the government is facilitating affordable air travel, enabling the active role of state governments as also the private sector to have a profitable participation in India's aviation movement, he added.
