by Aviation in India has grown significantly in recent years, becoming one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. India has a vast network of airports and airlines that connect the country to the rest of the world.
Today, India is the world’s third largest aviation market after the US and China.
The Indian aviation industry is dominated by two major airlines: IndiGo and SpiceJet, both of which operate a large fleet of aircraft and serve numerous domestic and international destinations. Other major airlines operating in India include AirAsia India, Air India, Air India Express, Go First, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Vistara.
The Indian government has undertaken a number of initiatives to support the growth of the aviation sector, including the development of new airports and the expansion of existing ones. In addition, the government has liberalized the aviation sector, allowing for increased foreign investment and competition.
India has also emerged as a major hub for low-cost carriers, with IndiGo and SpiceJet leading the way in offering affordable air travel to millions of Indians. The country’s middle class has also grown significantly in recent years, leading to increased demand for air travel.
Indian Aviation History
Aviation in India has a long history spanning over 99 years. In 1912, during British rule, the first Indian flight was inaugurated from Delhi to Karachi.
Aviation in India has a rich history dating back to the early 1900s. Tata Airlines (now known as Air India) operated the first commercial flight in India in 1932 between Karachi and Mumbai. Since then, the Indian aviation industry has come a long way, with the sector growing significantly over the past few decades.
In the years following India’s independence in 1947, the government took control of the aviation industry and established Air India as the national carrier. Several other airlines were established in the 1950s and 1960s, including Indian Airlines, which operated domestic flights.
The 1990s saw a significant shift in the Indian aviation industry, with the government allowing private airlines to operate in the country. This led to the establishment of several private airlines, including Jet Airways, which became one of India’s leading airlines before ceasing operations in 2019.
During that time, all flights were operated by Indian State Air Services in collaboration with Imperial Airways of the United Kingdom. Then immediately after the independence, two main lines were established in India.
The two Indian airlines established were :
- Airline Corporation
- Air India and both were state-owned entities.
The above two state-owned aviation entities (i.e., Indian Airlines and Air India) had total control over the airline industry in India for nearly four decades. During this period benefit of air travel was confined to a few privileged (either politically or economically) people who could afford it. Compared to thousands of flights operated today, at that time, the number of flights was abysmally few. This shows over the 99-year period, aviation in India has developed into a massive industry benefitting the rich and the middle-class community. After India’s rapid economic development, the aviation industry changed rapidly, so many privately owned airline operators entered the sector. For example, several low-cost airline and service operators commenced operating domestically and internationally. The number of airline operators tends to increase further due to rapid transformation and development of airport infrastructure, such as:
Construction of new airports, including refurbishment (or increased capacity) of existing airports in numerous Indian cities and associated infrastructure and facilities such as road networks, rail transportation, and hotel accommodation.
- Expansion of aviation services provided by the government-owned airline carriers.
- Modernization of airline services such as maintenance, repair and overhaul, and safety at airports through the latest instrumentation.
- Exploring new international airline routes by the state aviation sector
- Rapid increase in business travel and global mobility. In essence, increase in demand for domestic and international travel owing to rapid economic growth.
- Besides the above, recent statics indicate that there has been an amazing increase in air traffic since the year 2010.
Considering the above, it is certain that the Indian aviation industry will certainly outperform other Asian countries in terms of air travel. Consequently, more and more international airlines will compete to get a slot in the Indian aviation sector. This shows that the Indian aviation industry is further poised to develop to the next level depicting it as one of the rapidly growing aviation industry internationality and the in region.
It’s well known that catalyzing the industry’s rapid growth was due to private investment-friendly government policies that encouraged international aviation investors to participate. As such, nearly 75% of the Indian aviation industry is dominated by foreign and domestic investors. Hence, in the near future, India will become an attractive aviation market in the Asian region for foreign and local investors.
In the coming years, the Indian aviation industry will further catalyst into a giant industry due to the following:
- Increase of purchasing power of air-traveler partly due to affordable airfares offered by numerous low-cost carriers such as Air India, GoAir, IndiGo, SpiceJet, AirAsia
etc. - Developments of the Indian tourist industry and overall economic progress have resulted in increasing inbound and outbound travel.
- The government commitment to boost the industry by modernizing the aviation industry as a whole, including developing more international airports to handle a rapid increase in air traffic
Revamp existing aviation policies (by the Indian government) to encourage local and international participation in the development of the aviation industry. Also, such policies further encourage public-private partnerships to develop massive airport infrastructure development projects.
By looking at the above trends in the Indian Aviation Industry, one could see its tremendous potential in the coming years in terms of the country’s rapid development and economic prosperity.
Today, the Indian aviation industry is a major contributor to the country’s economy, generating significant employment and revenue. With the government continuing to invest in the sector, the Indian aviation industry is expected to grow even further in the years ahead.
Despite the growth of the aviation industry in India, the sector faces a number of challenges, including high fuel prices, infrastructure constraints, and regulatory hurdles. However, with continued investment and support from the government, the Indian aviation industry is poised for continued growth in the years ahead.
