Delhi and Mumbai traffic soars by 20 million

According to an analysis by AirInsight, air traffic in India’s two biggest gateways, Delhi and Mumbai, jumped by over 20 million in 2024 compared to pre-COVID. You can view our Indian airline data model here. The two airports at Delhi and Mumbai combined handled nearly 132.6 million passengers in 2024, compared with 112.57 in 2019, up almost 18%, reflecting strong growth in the world’s fastest-growing major aviation market. Mumbai Mumbai, the business capital of India, had long remained India’s top airport, but in recent years, it ceded that position to Delhi because of the former’s land constraints. Mumbai Airport saw a jump of over 6% in air traffic during 2024, compared to last year’s 51.4 million and 2019’s 44.17 million. It introduced international routes to Tashkent and Almaty and domestic destinations like Deoghar, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Ayodhya, and Vijayawada in India. The airport also saw airline additions, including Nok Air, Thai Viet Jet, Salam Air, Uzbekistan Airways, and Air Astana. Delhi shines Delhi led India's domestic traffic (18%), followed by Bengaluru (11%) and Goa (7%). Internationally, Dubai (16%), London (7%), and Abu Dhabi (7%) topped the list. Similarly, Delhi Airport saw record traffic growth, with 77.8 million passengers using its facilities, up from 72.2 million last year and 68.4 million in 2019. Delhi has also benefited from the rapid expansion of IndiGo, India’s largest airline. With over 400 planes in its fleet and a 63% domestic market share, IndiGo has always had Delhi as its most significant base. In recent years, Air India has also made Delhi a critical hub. Air India Under Tata Group, Air India has ordered over 600 planes and, together with its subsidiary Air India Express, is rapidly growing its fleet of 300 planes. In the last year alone, the airline added over 90 planes despite a Boeing delivery delay and a global supply chain issue that has dragged down aircraft supplies. Many of them have used Delhi as a base. Fortunately, Air India Express and Akasa have benefitted from delayed Chinese Boeing 737 MAXs being delivered to these airlines. This ensured raid fleet growth to match India's rising demand for air travel. Buoyed by this traffic, Delhi's GMR Group-backed airport is also undergoing another round of modernization. From April, it will shut down Terminal 2, originally constructed 40 years ago by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), for a comprehensive refurbishment lasting around six months. Interestingly, this will also be the first year when both Delhi and Mumbai will see full-fledged second airports open on their city outskirts at Greater Noida and Navi Mumbai, opening opportunities for even more rapid growth. India's aviation sector, which currently sees over 220 million passengers annually, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 6% for the next 20 years.

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