New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): The Airports Council International (ACI) Thursday said India last year witnessed passenger traffic growth of 6.2 percent and the Indian airports sector needs to be prepared to handle increased passenger numbers and more cargo in the coming years.

"India is full of potential with a large population in a large country with a growing middle class. However it still has a long way to go in view of the fact that other countries with similar or lower population bases handle relatively larger volumes of passenger traffic," said Angela Gittens, world director general, ACI.

According to ACI, one of the key challenges for Indian aviation is the development of airport infrastructure and the economic regulators in the sector should focus more on service quality rather than strict price control.

Indian airports handled 148,094,443 passenger volume in 2013, making the country as the 11th largest in terms of passenger volumes in the world.