India is expected to become the world’s third largest aviation market by 2024.

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).

With a market size of US$ 16 billion in July 2021, the country is the tenth-largest civilian aviation market.

According to a research report by Morgan Stanley, the Indian aviation industry is likely to recover to 80% of the pre-COVID levels (as of 2020). Between October 2021 and December 2021, ~92 million domestic passengers are scheduled to fly in FY22.

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).

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% shares.

In August 2021, the government convened three groups to revitalise the aviation industry. This committee will advise the government on how to increase local and international connectivity and address concerns such as aircraft leasing & financing, aircraft & component production and other regulatory requirements.

To cater to the rapidly growing demand, airline operators have been expanding their capacity. Capacity available in India’s domestic flights, as measured by Available Seat Kilometres, stood at 155,033.4 million kms, while demand, as measured by Revenue Passenger Kilometres, stood at 136,631.4 million kms in FY19.

Domestic passenger and international passenger traffic declined at a CAGR of -9.02% and -28.64%, respectively, from FY16 to FY21, owing to COVID-19-related restrictions on flights in FY21 however they are recovering in 2022. In FY21, airports in India pegged the domestic passenger traffic to be ~105.2 million, a 61.7% YoY decline, and international passenger traffic to be ~10.1 million, an 84.8% YoY decline, over the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. In October 2021, the average daily domestic passenger flight departures stood at >5,857, with average daily domestic traffic being >7,00,000 air passengers.

Between FY16 and FY21, freight traffic declined at a CAGR of -1.77% from 2.70 million tonnes (MT) to 2.47 MT. Freight traffic on airports in India has the potential to reach 17 MT by FY40.

Aircraft movement declined at a CAGR of -7.79% from 1.60 million in FY16 to 1.20 million in FY21. From FY16 to FY21, domestic aircraft movement decreased at a CAGR of -6.44% and international aircraft movement declined at a CAGR of -18.52%. India’s domestic and international aircraft movements reached 1,062 thousand and 135 thousand, respectively, in FY21.

As of May 2020, there were 153 operational airports in India. As of November 2019, 680 airplanes were in-service in the fleet of scheduled Indian operators. Due to rise in demand in air travel, India will need 2,380 new commercial airplanes by 2038. India plans to open 100 additional airports by 2024. As on October 2019, 55 AAI (Airports Authority of India) airports were declared as single-use plastic free airport terminals.

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 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 Government of India launched regional connectivity scheme named UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) to make flying affordable for common man. In February 2021, the government identified 24 routes in Assam under the first phase of UDAN 4.0. In March 2021, on the launch of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (India@75)’ by the Government of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has proposed 392 routes under the UDAN 4.1 bidding process. UDAN flights carried 34,38,955 passengers till 7th November 2021.

For a better execution of the PM-Gati Shakti vision, Minister of Civil Aviation Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia asks for synergy between the Central and State Governments to build 16 new airports in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.

AAI plans to invest Rs. 25,000 crore (US$ 3.58 billion) in next the five years to augment facilities and infrastructure at airports. It has opened the airport sector to private participation as six airports across major cities are being developed under the PPP (public private partnership) model. Investment to the tune of Rs. 42,000-45,000 crore (US$ 6-6.5 billion) is expected in India’s airport infrastructure between FY18-23. Under Union Budget 2021-22, the Indian government expanded the scope for ‘Krishi Udaan’ in convergence with Operation Green Scheme, wherein air freight subsidy of 50% for agri-perishables would be provided to North East states and 4 Himalayan states/UTs. The expansion of product-coverage will boost the ‘Krishi Udaan’ scheme and improve air cargo transportation from these states.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is hopeful that aspiring commercial pilots will soon be able to get trained in India without having to leave the country. In this regard, the government in July 2021 announced setting up eight new flying academies across the following five airports: Belagavi and Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Jalgaon in Maharashtra, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, and Lilabari in Assam.

In February 2022, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other airport developers have set a capital outlay target of Rs. 91,000 crore (US$ 12.08 billion) for the development of the airport industry.

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 October 2021, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, virtually flagged off six routes expanding the aerial connectivity of Northeast India.

In September 2021, JetSetGo, a private aviation company, plans to make its flight operations carbon neutral by 2024 through a carbon management programme.

In August 2021, Indira Gandhi International Airport was declared the best airport in India and Central Asia at Skytrax World Airport Awards.

In April 2020, the government introduced the ‘Lifeline Udan’ flights to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19. Under this scheme, about 600 flights flew more than 5 lakh kms and transported about 1,000 tons of essential cargo.

In March 2021, the government announced plan to set up two water aerodromes in Assam and four water aerodromes in Andaman & Nicobar Islands this year to boost tourism and connectivity. In March 2021, the government submitted a proposal to develop a water aerodrome project at the Ujjani Dam, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s UDAN-RCS (regional connectivity scheme).

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$ 3.06 billion between April 2000 and June 2021.

The government is planning to start 14 more water aerodromes across the country, after the successful launch of seaplane service by Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, between the Statue of Unity near Kevadiya in Gujarat's Narmada district and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad in October 2020.