From shuttering of a 27-year-old airline to repeated grounding of planes to ailing Air India, headwinds blew across the once-fastest growing domestic civil aviation space in 2019 while a spike in regional air connectivity served as a silver lining in relatively cloudy skies.If Jet Airways going bankrupt left hundreds of people jobless and shattered decades-old supply chain network, frequent Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine woes for Airbus 320 neo aircraft continued to pose safety concerns even as aviation watchdog DGCA came out with stringent directions.Global ban on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the wake of two fatal accidents came as a blow to many airlines worldwide, including SpiceJet , which has largely pinned hopes on these fuel-efficient planes for its ambitious expansion plans.In 2020, the Centre expects sale of Air India and privatise more airports while AirAsia India is likely to get green nod for international flights. Besides, Vistara and IndiGo are anticipated to increase the number of overseas flights.On the airlines side, differences between IndiGo's co-founders and co-promoters -- Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia -- came to the fore in July. The demise of Jet Airways, which used to operate over 600 flights on national and international routes per day, resulted in around 20 per cent capacity deficit, resulting in skyrocketing fares.The government also temporarily allotted hundreds of airport slots owned by it to other carriers, with an aim to contain soaring airfares in the peak holiday season. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), in September, recommended privatisation of airports at Amritsar, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Raipur and Trichy. Privatisation of these aerodromes is likely to be completed in 2020.

Source: Economic Times January 01, 2020 07:41 UTC