'Emirates Airline contributes $596 million to Indian economy'

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Dubai-based Emirates Airline has contributed $596 million to the Indian economy by way of boosting air transport, manufacturing and services sectors and creating direct and indirect employment, a study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) revealed.

The study released here Monday indicated that Emirates Airline has contributed to the Indian economy by way of $274 million in air transport sector; $76 million in petroleum and chemicals sector; $62 million in manufacturing sector; $39 million in trade, banking and insurance sector and $145 million in other sectors of the economy.

Emirates directly employs 1,045 employees and supports a total of 72,323 jobs in India through its operations - with 9304 jobs being direct employment impact and 63,019 jobs being indirect employment impact.

"This is the first comprehensive study of its kind. We have studied four impacts: first, the direct contribution of airline operations on the Indian economy; second, the indirect contribution of aviation to other sectors through multiplier effects; third, the generation of jobs in India; and fourth, contributions through the tourist dollars earned," Shekhar Shah, director general, NCAER.

"We have also looked at the regional benefits that accrue to smaller cities when they are linked to India's major air hubs," Shah said after releasing the report here.

On the tourism front, Emirates Airline has brought in 529,928 foreign tourists into the country in 2010-11, as a result of which, $1.15 billion has been contributed to the economy as foreign exchange earning.

For every $1 that Emirates contributes in the Indian air transport sector, it generates an additional $1.17 in the Indian economy. This means that the output multiplier for Emirates' contribution in the Indian economy is 2.176, the study revealed.

"Emirates is committed to further investment and growth in the Indian market with the deployment of the latest generation aircraft and launching new routes over the medium term," said Andrew Parker, senior vice president of Emirates Airline for public, industry and international affairs.