India to have 478 million air passengers in 2036: IATA

IATA said that India is projected to see a staggering growth from 141 million passengers in 2016.

New Delhi: India is expected to have 478 million air passengers in 2036 on the back of strong demand, global airlines' grouping IATA has said.

The country is projected to see a staggering growth from 141 million passengers in 2016.

Releasing its 20-year passenger forecast, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that it expects 7.8 billion passengers to travel in 2036, a near doubling of the 4 billion air travelers expected to fly this year.

The prediction is based on a 3.6% average Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), IATA noted.

The report said that the biggest driver of demand will be the Asia-Pacific region. The region will be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next two decades.

The point at which China will displace the United States as the world’s largest aviation market (defined as traffic to, from and within the country) has moved two years closer since last year’s forecast.

“We now anticipate this will occur around 2022, through a combination of slightly faster Chinese growth and slightly reduced growth in the US. The UK will fall to fifth place, surpassed by India in 2025, and Indonesia in 2030. Thailand and Turkey will enter the top ten largest markets, while France and Italy will fall in the rankings to 11th and 12th respectively,” it added.