Introduction

The air transport or the aviation industry boasts to be the only global transportation network with a reach to almost all the corners of the world. This fact makes this industry a matter of utmost importance when we talk about the global economy considering the impact that this industry has on it. It has played significant roles in boosting the economic growth of a lot of countries. The social connectivity that this industry brings is also unparalleled.  In 2010, this industry transported around 2.6 billion global passengers to different places of the world with a remarkable RPK (Revenue Passenger Kilometers) of more than 5 trillion. This RPK grew to around 4% in 2011 and around 5.3% in 2012. The USA has been consistently topping the RPK chart over years followed by China and with the UK as the third big player.  The industry directly employs over 8.36 million people around the world presently and supports 57 million livelihoods. More than 50 million tonnes of freight is carried every year by air transport with an RPK of almost 200 billion FTK. The biggest player in freight air transport is again the USA followed by China and Germany as the second and third biggest players respectively. Air transport increases the accessibility to different markets for countries giving them an opportunity to participate in the global market place. This further allows the globalization of the country’s local specialty products and services. Quite a few multinational companies have Business globalized their production also. The quantity of freight or goods transported by air amounts to around 35 per cent of the complete international trade. Over the years, various developing countries have used tourism to boost their economies and this has been made possible just by the air transport industry. The only alternative that international tourists generally have to air transport is water transport which is significantly slow when compared to air transport and then there are connectivity issues too. A few countries are connected via roads also but road transport also has larger connectivity issues. These reasons amount to more than 51 per cent of the global travelers opting for air transport as the medium and this figure has been ever increasing. It is estimated to increase further as the air transport industry moves towards sustainability. Moving towards sustainable flying, according to the Vision 2050 Meeting held in Singapore in February 2011, IATA aims to reduce the net carbon emission by 50 per cent by 2050 in comparison to the same in 2005. The air transport industry brings along an unparalleled connectivity which contributes to augmented productivity. It encourages international business, innovation, market reach and allows companies to get high quality talent from across different countries. The total global impact on the world economy of the aviation industry is estimated to be around 2.2 trillion dollars which is equivalent to 3.5 per cent of the total Gross Domestic Product  of the world .We can very well estimate the giant nature of this industry by all these figures. Today, there are over 1500 airlines in the world with a total fleet of more than 24,000 aircrafts. Following a properly routed network, these fleets operate in around 4000 airports and there are around 190 different air navigation networks that manage this routed network of thousands of kilometers. Air transport industry is one of the largest global employers providing around 57 million jobs directly or indirectly. Unlike the other transport industries, this industry pays on building suitable infrastructure on its own. More than 30 billion dollars are invested every year just in building capacity and required infrastructure. Further, for every $100 million invested in Research & Development in this industry is known to generate GDP profits of $70 million year on year. Such year on year return on investment ensures long term economic growth for any country .In 2013 itself, the air transport industry has transported an estimate of more than 3.1 billion people worldwide. In a survey conducted by the IATA of 2200 people, over 52 per cent of them claimed that they would have serious bad effects on their business if the connectivity of air transport is reduced. Further research and studies conducted in the US air transport industry revealed that for every 1 Dollar invested in the country into aviation leads economic benefits of more than 1.5 to 3 Dollars. The aviation industry further boasts of being the most efficient transport system leaving behind the water, rail and road transport systems by a huge margin. According to the 2010 figures of the industry load factor, the air transport system worldwide runs with an occupancy of almost 78 per cent which is way higher than the other transport systems .The air transport industry has a lot of social benefits as well. From an individual as well as a country perspective, the aviation industry nurtures closer relationships. There is a long-lasting social goodwill created between nations when they can freely transport their freight and people to the other country. This subsequently encourages the social as well as economic integration between the people and governments of the two participating nations.