India to have 92-93 carbon-neutral airports by 2024: Scindia

NEW DELHI: Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday that the country will have 92-93 carbon-neutral airports by 2024.

Scindia also said that the Aviation Ministry aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

Addressing the All India Management Association's national convention, the minister said, "Indian airports will not just achieve the net zero target by 2030, but will likely have over 400 million passengers by then," adding that the infrastructure on the ground must be improved and increased to handle the increase in passenger footfalls.

Scindia informed that currently Kochi and Delhi airports are carbon-neutral out of the total 141 airports in the country.

Speaking about the growth in airport infrastructure in the country, the minister said that in the last eight years, the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 141 and this will grow up to 220 in the next five years.

Scindia also talked about reduction of VAT by many states. As of now, 16 states have VAT on jet fuel between 1 per cent and 4 per cent. The lowering of VAT in ATF will help in greater connectivity and will prompt refuelling.

Scindia also said that he had a detailed discussion with the West Bengal delegation about the steps needed to be taken to expand airport infrastructure in the state and laid out his intention for an aggressive expansion plan for Kolkata Airport.