India Records Highest-Ever Air Passenger Traffic in First Half

The Indian aviation industry has recorded its highest-ever domestic passenger traffic for a half year. Between January and June 2024, Indian airlines carried 79.35 million passengers. This was an increase of over 4% from the previous year, as per data from Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation. 

Before this, the highest-ever passenger traffic for a half year was recorded in 2023, when 76.09 million passengers traveled on domestic airlines. The passenger traffic in 2023 had surpassed pre-Covid levels of 70.68 million passengers by 7.7%. 

Passenger Traffic Doubled in 10 Years

In the January-June period over the past 10 years, the domestic passenger traffic has more than doubled. In 2015, 38.83 million passengers traveled domestically.

During the decade, IndiGo played a key role in serving the Indian market, with its passenger share increasing from 37.5% in 2015 to 60.7% now. 

Former national carrier Air India nearly maintained its market share. Full-service airline Vistara, which had commenced operations in 2015, saw its market share increase from 0.9% to almost 10% now. 

The decade has been turbulent for Indian airlines, with Jet Airways and GoFirst going defunct, while SpiceJet being majorly hit by financial troubles and now running decimated operations. Meanwhile, new airlines including Akasa Air and Fly91 have commenced operations. 

Strong Indian Aviation Sector

Between 2014 and 2023, the number of airports in India doubled from 74 to 149, the then Indian aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said in January this year. India is also poised for a surge of 60 million in its annual passenger capacity after the inauguration of new terminal buildings at 12 airports. 

Data by aviation analytics firm OAG showed that India is the third-largest domestic aviation market, after the U.S. and China. Over the past decade, the Indian domestic market grew at an annual rate of 6.9%, it added. 

A report by credit ratings agency ICRA released in May revealed that Indian airport operators are expected to witness a 15-17% increase in revenue in the 2024-25 financial year, while air passenger traffic is expected to go up 8-11%. 

In 2023, India accounted for 4.2% of the global passenger traffic. ICRA corporate ratings sector head Vinay Kumar G said that passenger traffic recovery of Indian airports is among the best globally. 

While global passenger traffic last year fell short of pre-Covid levels, India’s passenger traffic stood at 106%. 

According to credit ratings agency CRISIL India’s domestic passenger traffic is expected to go up 10% this fiscal compared to 2023-2024 financial year. The surge is attributed to economic growth, more airports, and improved regional connectivity.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning a capital expenditure of INR 300 billion ($3.6 billion) over the next five years to upgrade the airport infrastructure. Private airport player Adani Group, which operates seven airports in India, is planning an investment of INR 1,750 billion ($21 billion) in its airport business over the coming decade.