New Delhi [India], September 16 : The aviation sector in India is witnessing a significant shift, with Indian airlines steadily gaining ground in the international passenger market, according to a report by ICICI Securities.
While foreign carriers continue to dominate in freight, the passenger segment is now showing more parity between domestic and international operators.
It stated "International segment now has more parity between Indian and international carriers; freight remains skewed towards foreign players".
The report mentioned that before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign airlines had a stronghold on India's international passenger traffic, carrying about 60 per cent of travellers to and from the country.
However, this trend has started to change since calendar year 2021 (CY21), with Indian carriers consistently improving their presence.
As of now, the market share of foreign airlines has dropped to nearly 55 per cent, reflecting the steady rise of Indian airlines in overseas routes.
In contrast, the report mentioned that the freight business tells a different story.
Foreign airlines still hold a commanding position in this segment, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the international freight market in the first quarter of CY25.
This indicates that while Indian airlines have managed to build competitiveness in passenger services, cargo operations remain largely dominated by global players.
The report also highlighted that new international routes are gaining prominence in recent times. Countries such as Azerbaijan and Georgia in Central Europe and Africa have emerged as new destinations for Indian travellers. Turkey and Ethiopia, in particular, have seen strong passenger growth over the past few years.
A key driver of this growth has been IndiGo's partnership with Turkish Airlines, which has enabled Turkey to become a transit hub for Indian passengers travelling to European countries.
Data from Q1CY25 shows Turkey handled 295,000 passengers, up from 265,000 in Q1CY24. Ethiopia saw 166,000 passengers compared with 136,000 a year ago, while Georgia recorded 26,000 passengers against 12,000 in the same period last year.
Similarly, Azerbaijan reported 42,000 passengers in Q1CY25, higher than 29,000 in Q1CY24.
Overall, international passenger traffic remained strong in Q1CY25. A total of 9.21 million passengers flew into India, while 10.13 million passengers travelled out of the country. This brought the total inbound and outbound passenger count to 19.34 million in the quarter.
Looking ahead, the report also expect a potential uptick in air travel with the resumption of direct flights to China and the reopening of tourist visas for Chinese travellers.
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