Emirates contribution to the Indian economy is estimated to be over $848 million annually, supporting over 86,000 Indian jobs and generating almost US$1.7 billion in Foreign Exchange Earnings, said a study.

According to the results of an economic impact study by Dubai-based Emirates and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi, it emphasises the important contribution that Emirates makes to India’s economy and aviation sector and also forecasts the increased contribution that the airline would be able to make if capacity entitlements were expanded.

Adnan Kazim, divisional senior vice president – Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation and Aeropolitical Affairs, Emirates Airline said: “Emirates has been committed to India since we started operations in 1985. In the past 30 years, we have progressively grown our services to India by increasing capacity and opening new routes. Today we operate 183 weekly flights to nine points across India[i], offering our customers in India seamless connections to more than 140 destinations, and also facilitating inbound visitors from across our global network into India.”

“The NCAER study underlines the importance of air transport and its role as an economic driver in India. Aviation facilitates trade and tourism, and creates employment in many different industries. Emirates’ annual operations alone support more than 86,000 jobs across India and contribute $848 million to the economy. We are confident that with increased capacity, we can contribute even more to India’s economic growth and development by opening new conduits for trade and investment, through our growing worldwide network.”

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 $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 $987.8 million towards GDP and boost Foreign Exchange Earnings to $2 billion per year.

Considering the breadth of Emirates’ network and how the demand for air travel is expected to double in the next five to 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. – TradeArabia News Service