Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday said that the government is closely monitoring the unfolding West Asia crisis in order to keep the aviation sector insulated from disturbances.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the India Aircraft Leasing and Financing Summit 2. Organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in the GIFT City, Gandhinagar, he pointed out that the government recently announced a credit line guarantee scheme earmarking Rs 5,000 crore to ease liquidity pressure on the airlines.

Referring to other steps taken by the government, he said that they have capped the monthly increase in aviation turbine fuel at 25%, and the airports have cut down the landing and parking charges to 25%.

Naidu said that India’s aviation sector is not merely growing; it is transforming at a pace that is catching the attention of the entire world.

He said, “The kind of growth the sector is seeing, India is going to become the third-largest aviation market in the world if you look at the orders that Indian domestic carriers have placed.” IndiGo has placed an order of 1330 aircraft with Airbus, and Air India also placed an order of around 570 aircraft.

It may be mentioned that new airlines have received government approvals, and a record number of pilot licenses have been issued in the last one year.

Naidu said the reforms undertaken in the aviation sector had started showing results. The GIFT City, he said, has 38 registered aircraft lessors and 370 leased assets valued at 5.8 billion US dollars and approximately 615 million US dollars in aviation financing executed through IFSC banking units.

The summit witnessed the signing of an MoU under which IFSCA and FICCI will collaborate to develop GIFT IFSC as a world-class international financial center.

Air India’s subsidiary AI Fleet Services announced that during financial year 2027, they aim to grow the number of aircraft leased through GIFT IFSCA from 50 to 75. IndiGo said that it expects its 75-aircraft fleet to double to 150 aircraft by March 2027. Akasa Air announced expansion with the leasing of 60 aircraft over the next five years.

A large number of aviation experts and stakeholders from India and abroad took part in the summit.