Airways in India are considered as very significant owing to the country`s vast size and long distances involved between two cities. Moreover, the airways network is also supported by climate. In this country, climate is favourable for air transportation as prolonged cloudy weather and foggy conditions are almost missing over a large part of the country. The advantages of air transportation are numerous. Speed and ease are the two most significant advantages that can conveniently cross mountain barriers, large water expanses, sandy deserts, etc. Al these advantages make airways an indispensable one.
Further, airways are not only the fastest means of journey, but also are most comfortable and impressive. Today in this age of speed air travel is the most suitable and contented means of travel. In India, air transportation is practical for one more reason. It can cross pretty tricky topographies, like lofty mountains, dull deserts, impenetrable forests and vast stretches of seas, with minimum pain. For instance, one can envision the northeastern part of the country with enormous rivers, everyday floods, impenetrable forests, lofty mountain ranges and international limits, erecting obstructions in surface journeys. But air travel has made things far smoother, than one can barely reckon.
The first domestic commercial air travel in India had started in February of the year 1911. The flight was from
Allahabad to
Nainital which was a distance of just six miles. With the passage of time, air travel in India has improved to a large extent. The first commercial airline that had started operating in India was Tata Airlines in the year 1933 and in the year 1945 the second domestic airline industry in India had begun with the name Deccan Airways. In 1946 Tata Airways had changed its name to
AirIndia and in 1947; Air India had signed an agreement with the
Government of India to begin its international operation.
Government of India has embraced a new `Open Skies` policy. Private companies in India, with predetermined foreign partnership, if needed, can now vie with two major public undertakings - Indian Airlines and Air India. Excluding Indian Airlines, now there are various scheduled private airlines, rendering regular domestic services. Presently there are several players in the field of airlines in India. They are namely, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Jet Life, Air India, Indigo, Spice Jet, Paramount Airways and many more. Airport Authority of India (AAI) looks after all the civil airports in India. Providing secured, competent air traffic services and aeronautical communication services is the basic occupation of Airport Authority of India.
After the independence of the country, aviation industry gas made considerable progress. India has both domestic and international airlines. Domestic airlines operate regularly between all important towns. However, the international airlines have a limited number of air connections with other countries. In Indian sub-continent, air services are controlled by the
Indian Airlines. Regular flights are run between important towns like
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Ahmedabad,
Shimla,
Chennai,
Srinagar,
Guwahati, Silchar,
Dibrugarh,
Agartala, etc. Further, owing to India`s central position several foreign airline services pass through India. Airways in India right from its beginning till date have come up a long way and the several airlines in the country have a considerable market share.
(Last Updated on : 1/10/2010)