Dr. Saurabh Bandyopadhyay, NCAER, said: “The current NCAER report observed that Emirates makes an important contribution to the Indian air transport sector in terms of passenger traffic and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE). The airline’s economic contribution to the air transport sector is seen to percolate to the economy at large through various multiplier effects. The study predicts further escalation of economic benefits for the Indian economy as Emirates grows the number of seats into India. This growth would result in direct economic contribution, multiplier effect on output and job-creation along with an induced effect on tourism. Apart from the quantified benefits from Emirates’ operations in India, the identified qualitative benefits also entreat an expansion of its operation in India.”
In February 2014, the aeronautical authorities of India and the UAE negotiated the first expansion of seat entitlements since 2008. As a result, Dubai-based carriers were awarded an additional 11,000 seats per week. The NCAER study models the economic value of potential future bilateral increases and forecasts that, if Emirates were to operate an additional 4,500 weekly seats between India and Dubai, an additional 4,800 jobs would be created, Foreign Exchange Earnings would rise to US$1.8 billion with the arrival of almost 40,000 more tourists a year.
If the bilateral arrangements were expanded to allow an additional 13,849 seats per week, NCAER forecasts that Emirates’ operations would support 100,405 jobs a year, contribute US$987.8 million towards GDP and boost Foreign Exchange Earnings to US$2 billion per year.
Considering the breadth of Emirates’ network and how the demand for air travel is expected to double in the next 5-10 years in India, Emirates is well positioned to bring a growing number of tourists and business travellers to the country, further enabling trade and investment.
The report was launched in New Delhi today, in the presence of Dr Saurabh Bandyopadhyay, Project Leader, NCAER; Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice President – India and Nepal, Emirates Airline and Dr Devendra B Gupta, Senior Consultant NCAER
