India is now the fifth-largest aviation market globally, according to new data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The country handled 241 million passengers in 2024, placing it just behind the US, China, the UK, and Spain.
India Overtakes Japan in Passenger Traffic
India recorded 211 million air passengers in 2024, marking an 11.1% increase over the previous year. That pushed it ahead of Japan, which saw 205 million passengers, despite Japan’s sharper growth rate of 18.6%.
Global Leaders: US and China Dominate
The United States held on to its top position with 876 million passengers last year, thanks mainly to its massive domestic market. China followed with 741 million passengers and a notable 18.7% jump from 2023.
The UK came in third with 261 million passengers, while Spain ranked fourth with 241 million—just slightly ahead of India.
Mumbai-Delhi Among World’s Busiest Routes
India also featured in the global rankings of high-traffic routes. The Mumbai-Delhi route was the seventh busiest airport pair in the world, serving 5.9 million passengers in 2024.
Most of the top 10 busiest routes were in Asia Pacific. The Jeju-Seoul route in South Korea topped the list with 13.2 million passengers. The only non-Asia-Pacific route in the top 10 was Jeddah-Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Premium Travel on the Rise
Globally, premium air travel—first and business class—grew by 11.8%, slightly ahead of economy class growth at 11.5%. Premium travellers made up 6% of total international passenger numbers, totaling 116.9 million in 2024.
The Asia Pacific region saw the highest growth in premium travel at 22.8%, reaching 21 million passengers. However, growth in economy class outpaced it, jumping 28.6% to over 500 million travellers.
In contrast, premium travel outgrew economy class in regions like Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East. Europe remains the biggest market for international premium flyers, with 39.3 million passengers. Meanwhile, the Middle East had the highest share of premium travellers as a percentage of all travellers—14.7%.
Boeing and Airbus Narrow-Body Jets Dominate
When it comes to aircraft, Boeing and Airbus narrow-body planes led the global fleet. Boeing’s 737 was the most flown aircraft in 2024, logging 10 million flights and generating 2.4 trillion Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs), a measure of passenger capacity.
The Airbus A320 followed with 7.9 million flights and 1.7 trillion ASKs, while the A321 flew 3.4 million times, delivering 1.1 trillion ASKs.
