The pre-pandemic period (2011-2019) demonstrated exceptional growth in passenger handling, with total numbers more than doubling from 1,623.05 lakh in 2011-12 to 3,447 lakh in 2018-19. This represents a robust 112% increase over seven years, reflecting India’s expanding air travel market driven by rising incomes, growing middle class, and improved connectivity. Notably, both AAI airports and joint venture international airports showed consistent year-on-year growth during this period, with particularly strong growth between 2015-16 and 2018-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on passenger traffic, with total numbers plummeting to 1,153.8 lakh in 2020-21, representing a 66% decline from the previous year. This period also marked the introduction of PPP airports in the data, which handled 66.98 lakh passengers in their first year of reporting. The recovery began in 2021-22, with overall numbers increasing to 1,888.91 lakh, though still well below pre-pandemic levels.
The post-pandemic recovery has been remarkable, with passenger handling not only returning to pre-pandemic levels but exceeding them by 2022-23 (3,272.79 lakh) and reaching a historic high of 3,764.26 lakh in 2023-24. This represents a 10.3% growth over the pre-pandemic peak, demonstrating the sector’s strong resilience and underlying demand.
However, the provisional figure for 2024-25 shows a significant projected decline to 2,306.13 lakh passengers, representing a 38.7% decrease from the previous year. This unexpected drop affects all three categories of airports and could be attributed to various factors such as economic conditions, fare adjustments, or changes in travel patterns.
The evolving distribution of passenger traffic across different airport types is also noteworthy. Joint venture international airports consistently handle a larger share of passengers compared to AAI airports, reflecting the concentration of traffic in major metropolitan centers. The emerging role of PPP airports is also evident, with their share steadily increasing from 5.8% in 2020-21 to 9.4% in 2023-24, indicating successful implementation of the PPP model in India’s aviation sector.
