India Becomes World's 5th Largest Aviation Market in 2024
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), India became the world's fifth-largest aviation market in 2025, handling 241 million passengers. This marks a significant rise from 2023, where India recorded 211 million air passengers — showing a growth of 11.1%.
Mumbai and Delhi airports were among the busiest in the country, contributing substantially to the surge in passenger numbers.
The latest edition of IATA's World Air Transport Statistics, released on Monday, confirms this impressive growth. IATA represents around 350 global airlines.
In comparison, Japan handled 205 million passengers with an 18.6% year-on-year growth. The United States maintained its top position with 876 million passengers, largely driven by its domestic aviation market.
China followed at the second spot with 741 million passengers, witnessing an 18.7% rise from 2023. The UK ranked third with 261 million, and Spain fourth with 241 million passengers — slightly ahead of India in total but behind in market growth.
The data includes both domestic and international passengers arriving and departing from each country. Among the world's top 10 busiest airport pairs, the Mumbai–Delhi route ranked 7th in 2024 with 5.9 million passengers.
This remarkable growth is seen as a positive indicator of the aviation sector's development and expansion in India.