October 20, 2016 TnH Global

India to become world’s third largest aviation market

Country to add 322 million more air passengers over next 20 years, IATA forecast reveals!

India will overtake the UK to become the world’s third largest aviation market by 2026, a new forecast has revealed. According to projections from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), India will also be the world’s third fastest-growing aviation market over the next two decades, adding 322 million new passengers.

In total, the world’s airlines are expected to handle approximately 7.2 billion passengers by 2035, nearly doubling the total of 3.8bn expected in 2016. This prediction is based on a 3.7% annual average growth rate. But Asia Pacific region will drive this growth, with more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years expected to be derived from the region.

China will displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market by around 2029, while India will take just a decade to climb into third place. These forecasts are based on air traffic to, from and within the country.

“People want to fly. Demand for air travel over the next two decades is set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and economic prosperity makes our world a better place,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general & CEO. He admitted however, that this staggering rate of expansion will inevitably put pressure on infrastructure.

“Runways, terminals, security and baggage systems, air traffic control, and a whole raft of other elements need to be expanded to be ready for the growing number of flyers,” de Juniac stated.

According to IATA, the top five fastest-growing major aviation markets between 2016 and 2035, in terms of the absolute number of additional passengers, will be:

1) China (817 million new passengers for a total of 1.3 billion)
2) US (484 million new passengers for a total of 1.1 billion)
3) India (322 million new passengers for a total of 442 million)
4) Indonesia (135 million new passengers for a total of 242 million)
5) Vietnam (112 million new passengers for a total of 150 million)

Measured in percentage terms however, the world’s top 10 fastest-growing markets will all be in Africa, led by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Central African Republic, Benin and Mali.