India has emerged as the world’s fifth-biggest aviation market, handling 211 million passengers, while Mumbai-Delhi was one of the busiest airport pairs in 2024. This was stated by the International Airport Transport Association (IATA), which has released the latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) for 2024.
According to IATA, India saw 211 million air passengers last year, a growth of 11.1 per cent compared to 2023, ahead of Japan, which handled 205 million passengers with an annual rise of 18.6 per cent. The US remains the world’s biggest aviation market with 876 million passengers in 2024 on the strength of its domestic market, growing 5.2 per cent year-on-year. China was the second-biggest passenger market, with 741 million passengers, a growth of 18.7 per cent compared to 2023. While the UK was at the 3rd spot with 261 million passengers, Spain stood at the 4th position with 241 million. The figures include all international and domestic passengers departing or arriving in each country.
Among the top 10 airport pairs, Mumbai-Delhi was the 7th busiest, carrying 5.9 million passengers in 2024. Asia Pacific dominated the ranking for the world’s busiest airport pairs, with Jeju-Seoul the most popular route globally, with 13.2 million passengers flying between the two airports in 2024.
