Air travel: International footfalls from India are not growing as fast as domestic— here is why
Also Read: Airfares have soared, but summer travellers don't careHow did the traffic not grow? The growth has been on the edge for a while until countries enticed Indians with visa-free travel or visa on arrival, which has been the case with Thailand and Malaysia. While travel to South East Asia has been on the rise, largely led by increased connectivity, travel to Europe and North America is yet to see its heydays.Europe has seen an ongoing war since 2022, along with the delay in issuing Schengen visas.
The non-stop flights to the United States and Canada have taken a beating, again thanks to the reciprocal non-use of Russian airspace by American carriers. This has gone down well for Air India, but the overall traffic remains impacted.
The visa situation with the United States is no different than Schengen, if not worse.ALSO READ: Indian airlines Oct-Dec overseas traffic up 22% on yearAirlines in India have focused on international expansion for the last year. Air India group is working towards shifting some flights from Air India mainline to low-cost carrier Air India Express, while it works towards expansion.
New horizons like Indonesia, Vietnam, and countries in Central Asia and Africa are now on the radar for Indian carriers for further expansion. Is this a double-edged sword for the airlines when international traffic isn't growing?Also Read: Heat or not, Indians are flying highBoth IndiGo and Air India have talked about international being their core focus area in the years to come.
IndiGo had earlier given specific growth targets for the international side of operations, where it still deploys less than 15 per cent of its departures and capacity. If the traffic does not grow, how does it bode well with the
. Read more on livemint.com
