India Emerges as World’s 5th Biggest Aviation Market in 2024

✈️ India Becomes 5th Largest Aviation Market – IATA WATS 2024

📅 Source Year: 2024

📚 Relevant for: UPSC Prelims (Current Affairs, Geography, Economy) & Mains (GS Paper 3 – Infrastructure, Economy)

🔹 Key Highlights:

1. India's Rank in Aviation (2024):
   ➤ 5th largest aviation market globally.
   ➤ Total Passengers: 211 million (includes domestic + international).
   ➤ Growth Rate: 11.1% compared to 2023.
2. Top 5 Aviation Markets in 2024 (IATA WATS):

   Rank	Country	Passengers (in millions)	Growth % (YoY)
   1	USA	876	5.2%
   2	China	741	18.7%
   3	United Kingdom	261	--
   4	Spain	241	--
   5	India	211	11.1%
   6	Japan	205	18.6%

3. India surpasses Japan in passenger numbers despite Japan having a higher growth rate.

🛫 Busiest Airport Pairs in 2024:

• Mumbai – Delhi ranked 7th globally
  ➤ Handled 5.9 million passengers
• Jeju – Seoul (South Korea) is the busiest airport pair globally
  ➤ Handled 13.2 million passengers

🌏 Regional Insights:

• Asia-Pacific dominates the list of world’s busiest air routes.
• Highlights the rising air travel demand in emerging economies, especially India and China.

🔍 UPSC Prelims Pointers:

• IATA = International Air Transport Association
• WATS = World Air Transport Statistics
• India is 5th largest aviation market in 2024 (Passenger traffic)
• Mumbai-Delhi = 7th busiest airport pair globally
• Jeju-Seoul = Most travelled air route in the world (2024)

📅 Updated: August 5, 2025 – 8:52 AM
📰 Source: NewsOnAir