Aircraft manufacturer Boeing stated that India&rsquos domestic air passenger market is predicted to double its size by 2030 from the pre-pandemic level.
David Schulte, the managing director of Regional Marketing of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said that they saw a 55 percent decrease in domestic passenger traffic through 2020 and their forecasts are showing that by the next 10 years, which is 2030, the Indian domestic market is expected to double the size of the 2019 market.
During the press briefing on commercial market outlook for India, Schulte further added that if they compare the Indian domestic traffic today to 2020 levels, they are seeing today&rsquos traffic at about 76 percent to those levels.
Just like their global peers the Indian airline companies have taken a downturn due to the pandemic-induced crisis and in order to survive these rough times, all Indian transporters took cost-cutting measures in 2020, such as pay cuts or firing of employees.
Schulte said that in the next 20 years there would be demand for more than 2,200 new commercial aircraft in India due to its expanding middle class and growing economy. There will be greater demand for regional, domestic, and long-haul travel. He also said that by 2039 they anticipate India&rsquos commercial fleet will grow four-fold.
With a growing number of women pursuing aviation careers, India&rsquos civil aviation industry will need around 90,000 new pilots, cabin crew, and technicians during the forecast period of 20 years.
Driven by India&rsquos manufacturing and e-commerce sectors, they also expect the country&rsquos air cargo to grow by 6.3 percent annually over the next 20 years.