Shangliao Sun
Research expert covering India
Passenger aviation in India - statistics & facts
Before the deregulation of the civil aviation sector in 1991, just two national airlines controlled the Indian skies. Indian Airlines focused on domestic services, while Air India International offered international flights. Since the deregulation, many private airlines have risen and fallen in this fiercely competitive market. The sector began to stabilize in the 2010s. After the sale of Air India to the Tata Group by the government in 2022, the civil aviation landscape was dominated by private providers. The only state-owned airline left was Alliance Air, while private carriers such as IndiGo and Air India are among some of the most successful airlines in the country.
The impact from Covid-19 pandemic
For the past few years, the global passenger aviation industry was significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian passenger aviation industry was also not immune to this disruption. Domestic air travel in India was suspended for several months in 2020. Meanwhile, regular international travel came to a halt for over two years, starting from March 2020. During that period, only a limited number of international flights under air bubble arrangements sanctioned by the government, could ferry passengers in and out of India. After air travel resumed normalcy, it was only until financial year 2024 that the air passenger traffic reached the pre-pandemic level.IndiGo
Established in 2006, IndiGo, short for InterGlobe Aviation Limited, is a low-cost airline based in Gurgaon, India. It was the largest airline in India both by passenger traffic and fleet size. Its leading position was further consolidated after the bankruptcy of one of its main competitors, Jet Airways, in 2019. Though Jet Airways were planning to come back to the market in 2023. For the last few years, the company has performed very well financially despite the disruption brought by the coronavirus pandemic. In June 2023, it placed an order for 500 Airbus A320 aircraft , which was the largest purchase order by any airline in history, to continue its expansion and domination in market.
