Panaji, November 2, 2022

General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.), Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, and for Road Transport and Highways along with Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant today inaugurated the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) Asia Pacific Conference today in Goa. “Think Global, Collaborate Regional, Accomplish Local” is the theme of this year’s conference. Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, Simon Hocquard, Director General, CANSO, Asia Pacific Affairs Director, CANSO Poh Theen Soh were present on the occasion. The Conference was also addressed virtually by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Sh. Jyotiraditya Scindia.

 

In his virtual address, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said the conference has brought together experts from across Asia Pacific, which reportedly contributes to 35% to 40% of global air traffic. He stated that the Indian economy is moving forward at a brisk pace and the civil aviation sector is likely to log around 400 million passengers over the next 7 to 10 years. He said the theme of the conference is contemporaneous with the Indian government’s vision under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

Addressing the conference, the Union Minister of State of Civil Aviation General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) said that the aviation industry supports almost 3.5 trillion dollars which is almost 1.4% of Worlds’ GDP. He stated that though the industry suffered heavily during Covid-19 pandemic, domestic recovery across the world is now improving. In India, the aviation industry has reached almost 95% of pre-covid passenger traffic, said the Minister.

 

He observed that Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) services are the most important aspect of aviation. General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh urged the aviation industry to collaborate on technology. “Airspace is going to grow in coming times, we have many flying objects in the air, not just aircrafts. So, we need to deal with the latest technologies”, added the Union Minister.

Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant informed that Goa’s newly developed Mopa airport got DGCA licenses recently. He stated that the new Greenfield airport will begin operations soon, opening more opportunities for tourism in Goa.

Sh. Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation highlighted the significance of the conference for India. He said, the issues being discussed in this conference are relevant for the growth of civil aviation in India.

 

Simon Hocquard, CANSO DG stressed upon improving efficiency. He said that improving efficiency and creating a more scalable, sustainable and resilient system has never been more urgent for the aviation industry.