Passenger traffic at Indian airports FY 2014-2024, by type
In India, there were over 400 airports and airstrips, while 135 were operational. Passenger traffic amounted to over 376 million at airports across India in financial year 2024, out of which close to 69.6 million were international passengers. This year's passenger traffic surpassed the previous record of 2019, grew 15 percent in comparison with 2023. The huge drop in 2021 was the result of the suspension of passenger air travel due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since the second half of March 2020.
India’s leading air carriers
IndiGo airline was the leading passenger carrier in India with around 55 percent of market share in financial year 2023. It was established back in 2006 as a low-cost airline based at IGI Airport, Delhi. Following IndiGo airline was Vistara, a full-service airline with a much less 10.4 percent market share. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. And just a few years ago, in February 2016, Jet Airways was the largest airline in India. However, due to tough competition, and financial issues, it ceased operations in April 2019, but is expected to resume its flight operations by the end of 2024
Air freight
The total air freight tonnage handled in India was around 3.1 million metric tons in financial year 2023. It was an increase from the previous year recovering from the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. IGI Airport in Delhi was the busiest in terms of volume of freight handled. In financial year 2021, India saw the highest volume of air freight of 3.56 million metric tons. It was on a steady growth trend until the start of the pandemic.
