India records over 20% growth in the number of new air routes: IATA

The growth of more than 20 per cent in the number of new routes in India provided a sizeable boost to passenger demand in the market, according to a latest report by International Air Transport Association (IATA). The surging number of international flyers is drawing airlines to new air routes in India. The increase in international air traffic from India and a focus on business and leisure travellers has prompted not only foreign airlines such as Air Italy and NokScoot to launch new routes to destinations in the country but has also got several Indian carriers including Jet Airways and IndiGo to start operations on foreign routes.
Although the combination of GDP and network developments explain more than three quarters of the variation in domestic revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) growth rates over time, other factors such as tourism attractiveness, availability of travel alternatives, trade flows and demographics account for the residual growth in traffic in the country. India has become the third largest domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to overtake the UK to become the third largest air passenger market by 2025, states a report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). The report reveals that by 2036, India is estimated to have 480 million flyers, which will be more than that of Japan (just under 225 million) and Germany (just over 200 million) together.