Indian carriers comprise 43.5 pc of international air traffic, more than pre-Covid times: DGCA

New Delhi [India], March 7 : Indian carriers continue to increase the market share in the international aviation sector, with countries in Africa, and the Middle East region accounting for more than half of India's total inbound as well as outbound passengers.
The data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation reveals that the cumulative market share of Indian carriers by passengers carried on international flights was 43.5 per cent in October-December 2022 up from 39.2 per cent in the corresponding period of 2019.
In the year 2020, during the same period, the market share of Indian carriers rose to 65.3 percent, and in 2021, the share of Indian carriers in the total international passenger traffic stands at 49.6 percent
As per the report of year 2022 last quarter (October-December) of DGCA, it was found that maximum passengers are carried to and from United Arab Emirates (32.4 percent) followed by Singapore (7.9 percent),Thailand (7.0 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.7 percent) and Qatar (6.3 percent). Among European countries, United Kingdom is the most travelled destination as about 4.4 percent international passengers travelled to and from UK.
Pawan S Jain, Managing Director, Belair Travel, one of the leading travel companies in India and globally said, "Air travel market has witnessed significant change, now we have more seats and capacity available than before. And the best part that there are no bubble flights which used to be very expensive earlier. The ticket which used to be Rs 70000 had reached up to Rs 4 lakhs in the last few years. Now their prices have come down drastically. People are excited to go abroad and meet the family and friends."
He added that whether they talk about international market or the domestic market, the market is flying now. It has caught a much faster pace.
He further added that Indian airlines are growing and Air India has just ordered 500 aircraft. It can be understood that air travel is going to increase as more airlines with more aircraft are going to hit the market. Government has also contributed in it by connecting small cities with air routes, so that people living in tier two or three cities can do business, go out for studies and travel.
"I completely agree with the data released by DGCA, it is not just going to remain three to four percent, it will double in the coming times. Indian middle class is increasing their expenditure power. They are spending it on air travel," he said.
The report further reads that out of the 30 Indian cities from where international passengers embark/ disembark, five Indian cities accounted for most (approximately 70.2 per cent) of the international passenger traffic. Delhi tops the position in this category with a share of 28.3 percent followed by Mumbai (19.8 percent share) and Chennai (8.5 percent share). Domestic and foreign carriers connect India to 52 countries through 322 routes. Maximum international passengers were carried on the Dubai-Mumbai sector followed by Dubai-Delhi.
During the fourth quarter of the year 2022, top ten international carriers accounted for almost 63.4 percent of the international passenger traffic. Indigo carried the maximum number of international passengers followed by Air India and Emirates. All Indian carriers except Go Air and Alliance Air Airlines operating on international routes find place in the top 10 list (Chart 4). All the foreign carriers except Singapore Airlines in the top 10 list originate from Gulf countries.
Interestingly, Vistara has significantly grown in terms of carrying more passengers on international flights in the December quarter than they did three years ago before Covid.
According to annual report of Ministry of Civil Aviation, during the period January to December 2022 a total of 43.4 million passengers were carried on international routes by scheduled Indian/foreign carriers as against 17.2 million in the corresponding period in 2021, thereby witnessing a growth of 152.7 percent. Out of the 43.4 million passengers, 20.9 million passengers were carried by scheduled Indian carriers, while 22.5 million passengers were carried by scheduled foreign carriers during the period January to December 2022.