India is expected to be a power house for future airline growth driven by the eagerness of people to travel and growing population, according to a report. In a report, the Netherlands-based ING Bank NV said India is set to deliver strong structural growth figures, and airlines are preparing for this with historically large orders for new aircraft from carriers Indigo and Air India.
"The country plans to open a range of new airports, and strategically located countries - such as the UAE, with the world's second largest airport in terms of passenger traffic in Dubai - are anticipating strong transit passenger growth from Asia," it said.
The report focusing on the outlook for the global aviation sector also noted that the long-term global growth outlook -- 20 years -- has generally been tempered in the post pandemic era to a range of 3-4 per cent annually instead of 5-6 per cent, with Europe seeing the lowest growth figure.
Further, it said that one of the main reasons is that flying is set to become significantly more expensive with rising costs of emissions.
Domestic travelling within large countries was the area first to recover, with its average already hitting pre-pandemic levels last year. But differences across regions are prevalent, the report said and added that in the US and China, traffic figures started 2024 beyond pre-pandemic levels.
"Domestic travelling in India and China will continue to push global airline growth (more on this below). But more importantly, lagging international (and intercontinental) travelling is returning with more strength, and this will propel airline mileages in 2024," it added.
