TBM Staff - Mumbai
India’s air passenger traffic is expected to grow by 8-11% year-on-year, reaching a record high of 407-418 million passengers in the current financial year (FY25), according to ratings agency ICRA. This surge is projected to boost revenues of Indian airports, with ICRA estimating a 15-17% year-on-year revenue growth for airports in its sample set, which includes those operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the airports in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Kochi.
ICRA highlighted that passenger traffic at Indian airports in 2023 rebounded to 106% of pre-pandemic levels, surpassing the global recovery level of 96%. This recovery outpaced other major markets such as the United States, Europe, China, and the Middle East. The growth is expected to be driven by a robust increase in both leisure and business travel, enhanced connectivity to new domestic destinations, and continued growth in international travel.
“The recovery in Indian airport passenger traffic is among the best compared to other major global counterparts. India accounted for 4.2% of global passenger traffic in calendar year 2023, up from 3.8% in 2019. While global passenger traffic recovered to 96% of pre-Covid levels in 2023, Indian airport passenger traffic surged to 106%, due to strong economic growth and the addition of new airport routes. Indian air passenger traffic is expected to outperform global trends,” said Vinay Kumar G, Vice President and Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.
Among the world’s top airports, the average recovery in passenger traffic compared to pre-pandemic levels for the 10 largest airports by passenger footfalls was around 98%, while Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) achieved a recovery of 105%. IGIA is the only Indian airport among the top 10 global airports.
ICRA analysts noted that airports with faster recovery in passenger footfalls globally typically benefited from heavy domestic traffic flows, a trend also observed in large Indian airports. Domestic air passenger traffic has grown more rapidly than international traffic in most regions, including India.
For FY25, ICRA projects domestic passenger traffic to reach 330-340 million, which would be 120-124% of pre-pandemic levels. International passenger traffic is expected to reach 77-80 million, representing 116-120% of pre-pandemic levels.
In FY24, passenger traffic hit a record of 376 million, fully recovering from the pandemic’s impact in both domestic and international segments. This is a significant increase from the multi-year low of 115 million passengers in FY20. The previous highest passenger traffic at Indian airports was recorded in FY19 at 345 million.
