Taking off into the post-pandemic skies: Future looks optimistic for the Indian aviation industry

The global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on India’s aviation industry with major airlines facing challenges. The big question is whether the aviation industry in India will fall under this stress or emerge even stronger in the post-pandemic world.

Well, according to estimates by IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation), despite the covid crises, India’s aviation industry is set to become the 3rd largest in the world by 2024. Currently, India stands at the 7th position in the global civil aviation market and the 3rd largest in terms of domestic travel. Let’s look at some facts about the current strength of India’s aviation market.

India’s airline sector has a fleet of 1000+ aircraft valued at over $50 billion. By 2050, it is expected to surpass 5000 aircraft. The rate of growth might be impacted by the uncertainty in the market but will eventually get stronger. At this scale, the industry will require a much-sophisticated aviation eco-system comprising aerospace manufacturing, aircraft leasing, aircraft maintenance and highly skilled manpower.

India’s aviation sector is the fastest-growing market in the world with the highest ratio of aircraft on order to aircraft in-service. With this rapid growth, the industry is set to generate further demand for aviation staff like pilots, cabin crew, management, engineers, commercial, financial and operational specialists, air traffic controllers and ground staff.

Despite the regular challenges faced by the international air carriers, the civil aviation sector in India appears promising owing to the increase in demand for domestic air travel. Additional factors like strong economic growth, high disposable income, increased demand for domestic tourism, favourable demographics, continued population and increasing aircraft penetration shows a promising future for the industry. The airline industry also acts as a big contributor to the economic health of India, creating opportunities for investments, tourism and employment.

India’s aviation industry has always shown the ability to recover from crises and come back stronger. The industry has already started showing signs of rapid growth and will emerge even stronger with time.