How should India open its aviation market?

There is an intense focus on access to India’s booming international air travel market as India’s home-grown players seek to capture their fair share of traffic, which has for many years been tapped successfully by overseas carriers.

The pace at which India opens its market, alongside the rate at which Indian carriers can grow internationally as they take delivery of longer-haul aircraft, are major talking points.

In the panel titled: Market dynamics of India and South Asia, veteran airline leader and consultant Willy Boulter, the former chief commercial officer of IndiGo, will lead the debate.

“Over the past decades, India market access and regulation has been inconsistent, to say the least,” explained Boulter. “With the burgeoning market, a large number of foreign countries and airlines are pushing for more clarity in opening the skies and some would say we are at a watershed moment.”

Aviation India is pleased to welcome Steven Greenway, Chief Executive Officer of flyadeal, the rapidly expanding Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier to the Summit, in addition to another airline industry veteran Sandeep Bahl, executive programme director, US-India aviation cooperation programme.

“Being one of the most dynamic air travel markets in the world, India simply cannot be ignored for any serious airline,” said Greenway. “I am absolutely delighted to represent flyadeal at the upcoming Aviation India conference in Delhi as it is a perfect platform and perfect timing to talk about our exciting plans to enter the India market from the end of the year.

Greenway added: "With our low-cost proposition serving a number of Indian destinations direct from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are gearing up for a very busy period.”

“I look forward to joining fellow delegates on a panel discussion to share insights about being a new entrant to India that builds on the success of our very first scheduled flights to South Asia earlier this year when we launched flights to Pakistan,” said Greenway.

The 2nd edition of Aviation India & South Asia Summit & Exhibition 2025 is organised by Times Aerospace Events (MESA) alongside joint venture partner, the MRO Association of India.

Under the event headline: “Shaping the pathway for Indian aviation”, the Summit promises to be one of the most significant gatherings of the commercial air transport community and ecosystem this year in India and builds upon the success of the launch summit in 2024 which attracted 582 delegates.

It is expected the 2025 edition will attract over 800 delegates and some 70 exhibitors.

Among the senior names from India’s aviation industry taking part in the Summit are Campbell Wilson of Air India, Pieter Elbers of IndiGo, Salil Gupte of Boeing India, and Bharat Malkani, CEO of Max Aerospace.

Aviation India summit 2025 builds on the formula of the successful Times Aerospace Aviation Africa events, which began in Dubai in 2015 and have been held in Rwanda, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa.