Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday that the domestic air passengers number in India is expected to go upto 300 million annually by 2030 from 153 million in 2023. He also added that India still have a vast untapped market in the area.
Scindia said this while speaking at the inaugural session of Wings India 2024, a civil aviation conclave. He added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the last decade has been a “shining star” for India’s civil aviation sector. He further said that the nation will have more than 200 airports and waterdromes, up from the existing 149. With 300 million passengers by 2030, India’s aviation penetration will be 10 to 15 per cent.
“That is the potential that India holds not only for itself and Asia but for the world. …even with achieving 300 million domestic passengers by 2030, we will still be one of the most under-penetrated markets across the top 20 in the world. Today, our penetration is roughly 3 to 4 per cent, which will grow to about 10 to 15 per cent. We still have 85 per cent penetration to go,” Scindia said.
He also stated that while domestic air passenger traffic experienced a 15 per cent growth (CAGR), international air passenger traffic was just 6.1 per cent in the last decade.
As per Scindia, India now holds the third position in the global domestic civil aviation market and ranks seventh in the world’s international civil aviation market. India ranks as the world’s fifth-largest civil aviation market when both domestic and international travel are considered. In addition, domestic and international cargo experienced a growth of 60 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively, in the last 15 years.
“Our domestic cargo traffic over the last 15 years has grown by close to 60 per cent and our international cargo traffic by close to 53 per cent. And it is our considered opinion and that of industry consultants that domestic traffic, which was 153 million in the last calendar year, up from 60 million in 2014, will grow to 300 million by 2030,” he said.
When it comes to the fleet size in the country, Scindia emphasised that it has grown from 400 to over 700. “Today, India has become the largest purchaser of aircraft in the world after the US and China. Our fleet size is going to grow from 713 to upwards of 2,000 in the next decade,” he said. “It is our target that by 2030, we will take that number from 149 to upwards of 200 airports, waterports and heliports in our country,” he said.
Scindia also launched the Udan 5.3 scheme at the event, “This regional connectivity scheme has truly transformed the arena and our sector… today under Udan, infrastructure has been built at 76 airports, waterdromes and heliports. Close to 517 new routes have been operationalised that could not have been dreamt of in the past,” he said about the initiative.