New Delhi, Nov 25 : The Centre on Wednesday informed that the aviation sector had witnessed an increase of 30 percent in the international passengers compared to previous fiscal.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel informed this to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for Civil Aviation Ministry.

Patel informed the committee, which held its first meeting here on Wednesday that over 29.8 million passengers travelled to and from India during the year 2008.

Patel also expressed confidence that country's aviation sector is expected to witness the growth of over 50 million passenger per year by 2015.

He also said the international flights from 82 points in the country has witnessed a growth of 53 percent, with 706 flights per week compared to last financial year.

"Due to the enhanced opportunities and international connectivity --69 foreign airlines from 49 countries are flying into India," he informed.

In the domestic front, the aviation has attained a growth of 69 percent from 2005 to 2008 with a passenger base of over 87 million.

Currently, India is ranked fourth after US, China and Japan in terms of domestic passengers volume.

Patel said " The aviation industry is expected grow at the rate of 9 to 10 percent to reach a level of 150 to 180 million passengers by 2020." (ANI)