Civil aviation recovery would be faster due to market size: Airbus India Prez

New Delhi: India’s civil aviation recovery would be much faster on the back of large market size, Airbus India President Remi Mail lard said on Saturday.

Speaking at Assocham’s webinar on ‘Covid-19 Impact and Opportunities’ for the civil aviation sector, he said: “The revival will at least take a year and the domestic market should be the focus right now. Regional connectivity is of utmost importance right now.”

According to Maillard, opening up of the domestic sector in a phased manner would help in reviving the industry.

“While the Indian airline companies are suffering losses, the situation is not different in other countries. Passengers have to be told that travel by airlines is the safest form of travel today. Once they get the confidence, recovery is possible,” he said.

The aviation sector is one of the worst impacted industries by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other panelists at the webinar pointed out that the sector is limping back to recovery due to the opening up of the domestic flights and cargo services.

“I believe there is a silver lining in cargo segment which is just a percentage lower than what it was in the pre-Covid times,” IndiGo’s Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjay Kumar said at the webinar.

“The revenue from cargo has not been much affected despite the lockdown. Domestic travel is allowed on a 60 per cent capacity. But I think it is slowly and steadily changing,” he added.