For 50 months, India sees double digit rise in domestic air passengers: IATA

MUMBAI: India crossed a milestone in October when for a record fifty straight months its domestic passenger traffic clocked a double-digit growth, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) data released on Thursday. In October, India posted a 15% growth in domestic passenger traffic compared to the same month last year.

However, India has a long way to go. Of all the passengers around the world who boarded a flight in 2017, international passengers accounted for 64%, while domestic passengers made up for the remaining 36%. Out of the 36%, India had only 1.4 % share in global domestic passenger. US had the highest share at over 14 %, followed by China at 9 %, showed IATA data

But when one looks solely at October 2018 passenger traffic growth percentages, China, India and Russia lead all markets with double-digit growth rates. IATA is a global airlines’ trade body that represents 290 airlines or about 82 % global air traffic.

While the 15 % Indian domestic passenger traffic growth of October 2018 was a slowdown from 19.6% in September, the strong upward trend in traffic remains in place, said the IATA passenger traffic growth report for the month of October.