India has historically been challenging yet fantastic mkt for airlines: IATA

Geneva, Dec 10 (PTI) India, which has historically been a challenging market for airlines to succeed, has all the ingredients to become a fantastic market, and some of the issues being seen now are temporary, according to IATA chief Willie Walsh.

With considerable growth potential and rising air traffic demand, Indian carriers are looking to expand capacity, and over 1,500 planes are on order. More airports are also coming up.

Welcoming investments in airport infrastructure and by airlines in additional aircraft, Walsh said India's domestic market is now 32 per cent larger in 2025 than in 2020.

"It (Indian domestic market) has increased by more than a third in terms of revenue passenger kilometres... That growth does not come without challenges... India has facilitated that growth, which has been a great example... It is one of the most exciting global markets," Walsh said.

Against the backdrop of IndiGo flight disruptions and other challenges, the IATA chief said he sees some of the issues being faced in the Indian market as temporary.

Walsh is the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global grouping of nearly 360 airlines that account for over 80 per cent of the global air traffic. IATA members include Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet.

At a media roundtable in Geneva on Tuesday, Walsh noted that all the ingredients for a fantastic market exist in India.

"I don't think we would be critical of them for the fact that other airlines have not entered the market, or where we are today as well. They have survived and continue to operate well. So, I think the market will change over time," he said.

The response came in to a query on duopolistic tendencies in the fast-growing Indian market, where IndiGo and the Air India Group hold over 90 per cent of the domestic market share.

"I think with the expansion of airport capacity, we will facilitate new entrants into the market. And that's something that we will witness over the coming years as well," he said.

Over the years, many airlines have been shuttered in India after taking off with ambitious plans and even flying for decades.

Acknowledging that India has historically been a challenging market for airlines to succeed in, the IATA DG said many airlines have grown, then struggled financially and disappeared.

"Jet Airways and Kingfisher being two very obvious examples of what we saw as global carriers with global ambitions, which made big investments and sought to grow but struggled to be financially viable and, regrettably, have disappeared," he said.

Walsh also mentioned that the privatisation of Air India has been a very positive development, as the airline's state ownership had distorted its commercial operating environment.

Tatas acquired loss-making Air India from the Indian government in January 2022. PTI RAM DRR DRR