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By 2030, domestic air traffic projected to hit 300 million
India will still be one of the most under-penetrated markets across the top 20 countries in the world
Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said that the country’ domestic air passenger traffic will double in the next six years, reaching 300 million by the end of 2030.
“The domestic traffic in the last calendar year was 153 million. The number went from 60 million in 2014, to 153 million in 2023, just within nine years. We’ll grow to 300 million by 2030,” Scindia said.
“That is the potential that India holds not only to herself, but also to Asia and to the world,” he added.
The minister added that even with 300 million domestic passengers by 2030, India will still be one of the most under-penetrated markets across the top 20 countries in the world.
Highlighting the potential of the sector in India during the Wings India event in Hyderabad on Thursday, the minister said, “Looking at the potential that this market holds for the decades to come from an Indian perspective, under the guidance of our prime minister, we are preparing for this potential. We are preparing for the potential by creating capacities, removing bottlenecks, simplifying procedures, so that by 2047, when India achieves her 100th year of independence, this civil aviation sector is able to support not a current $4 trillion economy but a $20 trillion economy.”
The minister also launched another phase of the regional connectivity scheme UDAN 5.3.
“This regional connectivity scheme has truly transformed the arena and our sector... today under Udan, infrastructure has been built at 76 airports, waterdromes and heliports. Close to 517 new routes have been operationalised that could not have been dreamt of in the past,” he said.
Talking about the government’s plans for last-mile connectivity, Scindia said, “It is our aim in the future to expand the capability of a heliport so that every district in our country has a modern heliport that is put in place. We have also enhanced safety and security.”
The minister added that domestic air traffic has surpassed the peaks recorded in the pre-Covid period. “ Domestic traffic in the last 10 years has grown at a CAGR of 15.3%. International traffic has grown at a CAGR of 6.1%”
The minister said that India is now the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world and the seventh largest international civil aviation market in the world. “If both domestic and international are combined, then India is the fifth largest civil aviation market in the world,” he said.
He added that “today, India has become the largest purchaser of aircraft in the world after the US and China. Our fleet size is going to grow from 713 to upwards of 2,000 in the next decade.”
In 2023 alone, India’s airlines placed orders for 970 aircraft.
In February last year, Air India placed orders for 470 aircraft, including from Airbus and Boeing.
In June 2023, IndiGo placed an order for 500 A320Neo aircraft.
Speaking about the growth in the cargo sector, Scindia said, “Our domestic cargo traffic over the last 15 years has grown by close to 60% and our international cargo traffic by close to 53%.”
