Asia Pacific Civil Aviation Conference in India | Sep 2023

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) The second Asia Pacific ministerial conference on civil aviation will be held in the national capital on September 11 and 12, which is expected to see the participation of representatives from around 40 countries, including China and Pakistan.

The Asia Pacific region is a significant contributor to global air traffic, and India is the world's fastest-growing aviation market.

The conference, jointly organised by the Indian government and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) APAC, will be held on September 11 and 12.

Speaking at the curtain raiser event for the conference in the national capital, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Monday said India has made significant strides in the aviation sector and the annual passenger traffic is projected to touch 250 million.

Emphasising that sustainability must be at the core of growth, he said efforts will be made to make aviation more accessible and affordable for people.

Around 40 countries, including Australia, Singapore, France, the US, the UK China, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Japan, will be participating in the conference, according to a presentation.

The first Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation was held in Beijing in 2018.

At the curtain raiser event for the conference in the national, DGCA chief Vikram Dev Dutt said the Asia Pacific region accounted for more than 33 per cent of the total global flight departures in 2023.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol said there is great potential for the aviation sector in the Asia Pacific region and India.

Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam said the aviation sector is on an upswing.

India is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world and is currently the third largest in the domestic segment. In the last decade, the number of aircraft in India has increased from 400 to more than 800 and airports have exponentially grown from 74 to 157, as per the ministerial conference website.