The civil aviation industry in India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in the country during the last three years. India has become the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to overtake the UK to become the world’s third-largest aviation market by 2024. With a market size of US$ 16 billion, the country is the tenth-largest civilian aviation market.
India is expected to overtake China and the United States as the world's third-largest air passenger market in the next ten years, by 2030, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Passenger traffic stood at 376.43 million and aircraft movements reached 2.67 million in FY24.
Growing private sector participation through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model is evident, with 14 airports in India currently operated under PPP agreements.
Revenues of domestic MRO services providers in India are expected to triple by FY28, driven by a doubling aircraft fleet, government support, and ongoing MRO capex at airports, according to Crisil.
In FY24, airports in India pegged the domestic passenger traffic to be 306.79 million, a 13.5% YoY growth, and international passenger traffic to be 69.64 million, a 22.3% YoY growth, over the same period last year.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is developing public-private partnership (PPP) modalities for the privatisation of 25 airports under the National Monetization Pipeline.
On December 19, 2023, ICRA reported that the Indian aviation industry is projected to see year-on-year revenue growth of 15-20% in FY24 and 10-15% in FY25. Despite healthy passenger traffic growth, the recovery in industry earnings will be gradual due to the high fixed costs.
According to the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), FDI inflow in India’s air transport sector (including air freight) reached US$ 3.85 billion between April 2000-March 2024.
The government plans to operationalize 12 new airports under the UDAN scheme this year, with an expenditure of Rs. 4,073 crore (US$ 486 million) incurred for airport development as of June 30, 2024.
Union minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia spearheads Airbus-Dynamatic Technologies collaboration for A220 door manufacturing in India, amplifying 'Make in India' and AatmaNirbhar Bharat missions, underlining employment growth and technological advancement in aerospace sector.
In FY25 (As of June 2024), airports in India pegged the domestic passenger traffic to be 81 million, a 5.6% YoY growth, and international passenger traffic to be 18.54 million, a 14.2% YoY growth, over the same period last year.
Union minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurates Dehradun Airport's new terminal, expanding capacity to serve 3240 passengers during peak hours and 47 Lakh annually. The terminal embodies local heritage, with columns inspired by state flower "Brahmakamal", promoting sustainability and accessibility.
In October 2022, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the C-295 Aircraft Manufacturing Facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.
In the Union Budget 2023-24, Rs. 3,113.36 crore (US$ 376 million) was allocated to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
According to the documents of the interim budget for 2024-25, the Ministry of Civil Aviation will get an allocation of Rs. 2,300 crore (US$ 276 million).
Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN, two water aerodromes have been established and commenced operations, enhancing connectivity in remote areas.
In October 2021, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, virtually flagged off the first direct flight along the Shillong–Dibrugarh route, under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.
In May 2023, Union Civil Aviation Minister Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia said that there is a plan to invest Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 12 billion) in airports in the coming days.
AAI was planning to invest Rs. 25,000 crore (US$ 3.58 billion) in next the five years to augment facilities and infrastructure at airports.
During the year from 2013-14 to 2023-24, the capacity (ASK) in the domestic market grew at a rate of 7.7% (CAGR) while the demand (RPK) grew at 9.6% (CAGR) during the same period.
The government will spend about Rs. 98,000 crore (US$ 12 billion) by 2025 to boost regional connectivity.
In the Union Budget 2023-24, it was announced that 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes, and advanced landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity in the country.
Investment to the tune of Rs. 42,000-45,000 crore (US$ 6-6.5 billion) is expected in India’s airport infrastructure between 2018-2023.
During April-June 2024, the domestic passenger traffic stood at 81 million, registering a 5.6% increase, and international passenger traffic stood at 18.54 million, a 14.2% increase, as compared to the same period the previous year.
In June 2023, Union Civil Aviation Minister Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia said that 200-220 more airports, heliports, and water aerodromes will be built in the country over the next five years.
On July 14, 2023, the fourth runway and dual ECT (also called elevated taxiways) became operational at the Delhi airport. Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is the first airport in the country to have four runways and Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT).
In October 2021, Tata Sons won the bid to acquire state-run Air India by offering Rs. 18,000 crore (US$ 2.4 billion) to acquire 100% of shares.
The Government set a target to operationalize 1,000 UDAN routes and to revive/develop 100 unserved & underserved airports/heliports/water aerodromes (including 68 aerodromes) by 2024.
The AAI has announced a few developments in Indian Airports - construction of a new airport on a greenfield site in Hollongi (Arunachal Pradesh) by November 2022, new integrated passenger terminal building expansion of Tiruchirappalli & Pune Airport (March 2022), Guwahati International Airport (June 2022), Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport (Early 2021) and a major expansion of Surat Airport (December 2021). On May 08, 2021, AAI commenced commercial operations at Rupsi Airport—Northeast India’s 15th airport and Assam’s 7th airport.
The road ahead poses strong opportunities for the aviation sector.
India’s aviation industry is largely untapped with huge growth opportunities, considering that air transport is still expensive for the majority of the country’s population, of which nearly 40% is the upwardly mobile middle class.
