Air travel in India is no longer a luxury of the elite, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion of the completion of 75 glorious years of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), he said the credit for making air travel easy for the common man goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through visionary schemes like UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), doubling the number of airports and affordable airfare.

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”It is now a common sight at airports to see people wearing Hawai chappals boarding the Hawai-Jahaz,” he quipped.

The minister noted that the number of airports in the country has more than doubled in the last over nine years from 75 in 2014 to over 150.

Dwelling on the aeronautical and space sectors, Jitendra Singh informed that after India’s totally indigenous Maiden Manned Mission Gaganyaan in 2025, an Indian will land on Moon in 2030 and India will have its own Space Station by 2035.

He said the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) has been a crucible of innovation, a platform for collaboration, and a catalyst for the growth of the aerospace industry in the country.

Jitendra Singh said India’s progress in science and technology, especially in aviation and aerospace in the past 9-10 years under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, stands as a testament to the government’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible. ”After the unlocking of the space sector in 2020, there are now around 150 deep tech Start-Ups working in this sector from a mere 4-5 in 2014,” he added.

He said the Indian aerospace sector has evolved significantly, and ”we find ourselves at the cusp of unprecedented achievements.”