India’s aviation sector has undergone remarkable growth, increasing airports from 74 in FY15 to 149 in FY23. Pre-2014, 74 airports existed; currently, there are 149. Despite COVID-19 setbacks, the industry has rebounded, achieving 96% passenger traffic recovery in 2022-23. Notably, new airports and terminal buildings, including Rajkot and Shivamogga, contribute to ongoing growth.
The White Paper tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Thursday stated that India’s aviation industry has undergone significant growth and transformation over the past decade. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation data during the six-year period i.e. 2014-15 to 2019-20, Indian airports witnessed robust double-digit Compound Annual Growth Rate of 12.4 per cent in terms of total passenger traffic.
Post-Covid, Indian aviation industry is again on the growth trajectory and the total passenger traffic has recovered to the tune of 96 per cent during 2022-23, as compared to pre-Covid.
“In the last 12 months, two greenfield airports namely, Rajkot in Gujarat and Shivamogga in Karnataka have been operationalised. In addition, new terminal buildings at Trichy, Ayodhya, Surat, Chennai, Tezu, Kanpur and Port Blair airports have been developed,” as per the Ministry of Civil Aviation data.
