Sunday, 13 Oct, 2024
By: Deepak Maggu
From 1932 till now, about 94 airlines have tried their hand at Indian aviation, but most of them have been disappointed.
Tata Air to Air India, then back again Tata Air, Indian aviation has seen a lot of skies.
With the establishment of Tata Air by JRD Tata in 1932, the foundation of Indian aviation was also laid. From 1932 till now, about 94 airlines have tried their hand at Indian aviation, but most of them have been disappointed. There were many reasons behind this, such as high ATF prices, high operational costs, and tough competition from low-cost carriers.
Due to this, about 67 airlines have closed their operations so far.
Despite all this, India is the third largest market in the world's aviation and the fastest-growing aviation market in the world, according to IATA.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India’s air passenger traffic has grown by at least 16% annually over the past decade. In 2000-01, it stood at a paltry 1.4 crore passengers. In 2017, Indian airlines flew nearly 14.4 crore passengers, most of them domestic. It is now the third largest aviation market in the world, with growth rates that leave the US and China in the dust. There is no slowdown in sight. Airbus forecasts that domestic traffic will grow five and a half times over the next two decades.
However, India's aviation also could not escape the outbreak of COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, there was an unprecedented increase in the number of passengers travelling in India's domestic aviation. The number of domestic passengers increased from 11.7 crore in 2017 to 14.4 crore in 2019. But with a decline of 56.3%, only 6.3 crore remained in 2020.
There was a slight improvement in 2021, and the number of domestic passengers registered a growth of 33% to 8.38 crore. But still, it is 45% less than in 2019.
In the first quarter of 2022, the number of domestic passengers stood at 2.48 crore, which is a good sign. India is again on the way to achieving its growth as it was before 2019. Thus, the momentum is indicating that in the next 9 months, this number will comfortably cross the level of 2021 and surpass it.Apart from that, many opportunities are visible in the future. India is the world's second-most populous country, which is on the path of development with the youngest population. All this makes India a booming aviation market.
