The number of domestic air passengers across India in December 2024 is estimated to be about 15.3 million, according to credit ratings agency ICRA. This is an 11% growth from December 2023, and over 17% higher than pre-Covid levels in December 2019.
There was also a significant growth in airlines’ capacity, ICRA noted. “The airlines’ capacity deployment in December 2024 was higher than December 2023 by 7.5% and by 3.8% over November 2024.”
Between April and December 2024, over 122.5 million domestic passengers traveled through air, up 7% year on year and nearly 13% higher than April-December period in 2019.
ICRA added that in the first eight months of fiscal year 2025, the international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at over 21.8 million, a growth of 15.2% compared to the year before. Pre-Covid, this figure was 15.2 million.
Future Outlook: ICRA maintained a stable outlook on the Indian aviation industry due to expectations of moderate growth in the domestic air passenger traffic and a relatively stable cost environment in financial year 2025.
However, it expects the momentum of traffic growth to moderate slightly to 7-10% in the ongoing year as compared to 13% in the previous fiscal year. ICRA attributed this to the high base of the 2024 fiscal year and “lower passenger traffic in the first half of the fiscal year 2025, impacted by heatwaves and other weather-related disruptions.”
It expects international passenger traffic for Indian airlines to increase by 15-20% in the current year.
Challenges to Remain: ICRA said that the supply chain issues and grounded aircraft are likely to have an adverse impact on the cost structure of the airlines due to expenses towards grounded fleet and leasing of additional planes to make up for the capacity lost, along with lower fuel efficiency of older aircraft taken on lease.
“In the current fiscal, the industry has also faced challenges related to availability of pilot and cabin crew, leading to several flight cancellations and delays.”
ICRA also reaffirmed its stance that the industry is likely to report net losses of INR 20-30 billion ($236-354 million) in the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, as compared to the net profit of around INR 16 billion ($185 million) in fiscal year 2024. “Nonetheless, the expected losses are significantly lower than losses of INR 235 billion ($2.7 billion) and INR 174 billion ($2 billion) reported in 2022 and 2023, respectively.”
Radisson Debuts in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore
Radisson Hotel Group has debuted in the city of Vellore in Tamil Nadu with the opening of Park Inn by Radisson Vellore. According to Radisson, the property is the first internationally branded hotel in the city.
“This opening underpins our strategy of being the first mover and focusing on Tier-3 cities,” said area senior vice president for Radisson Hotel Group South Asia.
The hotel chain currently has over 190 hotels in its India portfolio across 114 destinations and is focusing on Tier-2 and 3 cities to expand its footprint in the country.
Visa Processing Solution With AI-Driven Risk Profiles
Online visa platform Atlys’ founder and CEO Mohak Nahta has launched Skylane, a business-to-government solution for visa processing systems. Skylane is designed to replace manual processes with data-driven systems.
In a statement, the company explained that its AI-based technology has been designed to create a risk profile similar to a credit score for travel whenever a visa application is submitted. “This risk profile consolidates verified identity, authenticated documents, and potential flags, providing consular officers with a clear, data-backed assessment. Physical documentation is eliminated, with applications processed electronically,” it said.
Apart from this, Skylane’s design also includes features such as paperless visas linked directly to passport numbers and reusable biometrics.
Is Travel Planning Overwhelming Indians?
A significant majority of Indians tend to overthink their travel plans making it difficult to commit to a trip, according to a new report by travel search aggregator Skyscanner. Skyscanner’s “Wonderlost” report noted that 75% of Indian travelers find the planning process to be overwhelming.
Factors such as making a less-than-perfect choice, cost concerns, and overthinking make travel planning cumbersome. It noted that Indian travelers tend to be extra cautious about their travel choices and revisit their options multiple times.
Mohit Joshi, Travel and Destinations Expert at Skyscanner, said, “Our Wanderlost report highlights that over 1 in 5 (22%) Indian travellers take up to a month to finalise their holiday plans – a timeframe akin to deciding on higher education. Despite this, nearly half (45%) Indians ended up taking more holidays than they originally planned in 2024.”
Hilton Brings DoubleTree by Hilton Brand to Chandigarh
Hilton has signed its first DoubleTree by Hilton-branded hotel in the Greater Chandigarh Region. DoubleTree by Hilton Chandigarh Kakrali is expected to open later this year. With this, Hilton’s development pipeline in Punjab includes three hotels, including two other DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in Amritsar and Ludhiana.
According to Hilton, the upcoming property will be the first branded hotel in the area to offer extensive banqueting facilities, designed to cater to the growing demand for wedding and MICE events.
Clarence Tan, senior vice president, development, Asia Pacific at Hilton, said that the DoubleTree by Hilton brand is a key part of its Indian portfolio. Under the brand, 11 hotels are currently trading across India, while another eight are in the pipeline, forming a key part of Hilton’s 56 trading and developing hotels in the South Asian region.
Ahmedabad-Bhutan Direct Flights by Thomas Cook
Travel services company Thomas Cook and its group company SOTC Travel are set to start special direct flights from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to Bhutan from April. Currently, Gujarat does not have direct connectivity to Bhutan, with passengers required to travel via Delhi or Kolkata.
“Gujarat remains one of our most important source markets, and with Bhutan’s increasing popularity, we aim to offer a travel experience that addresses the specific needs of Gujarati travellers. We are optimistic that this launch will drive substantial growth from the region in 2025,” said Rajeev Kale, president and country head – holidays, MICE, visa at Thomas Cook (India).
The direct flights are a part of a six-night itinerary in Bhutan curated for travelers from Gujarat. It includes unique experiences such as archery and riverside lunch in Punakha. Apart from this, the tour also includes Gujarati chefs in Bhutan to provide Gujarati food to travelers as per their requirements, as well as Gujarati-speaking tour manager from Ahmedabad.
