- Saturday, November 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Shubham Ghosh
Air routes between the United Arab Emirates and India will be the world’s fastest growing for the next 18 years starting this year with the number of passengers expected to grow almost seven percent annually, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced. During the same period, global air travellers’ growth could be between 1.5 and 3.6 percent.
Gulf News on Thursday, June 3, reported that apart from India-UAE, two other international routes are likely to witness a big take-off and they are China-Thailand and China-Japan. While the first could see an annual growth rate of 5.6 percent, the second could experience an annual rise by 4.6 percent. In terms of domestic air travel, India is likely to remain way ahead of the rest with its passenger numbers likely to see a 6.2 percent growth every year. China, on the other hand, will see a five percent growth rate while the US, the largest aviation market, is set to see only 1.4 percent rise annually, the report added.
The IATA also said that while the global passenger figures are set to return to the pre-Covid-19 levels in 2023, Middle East and Europe will see normalcy returning by 2024, which is in sync with the industry body’s original prediction. Passenger numbers could recover to 52 percent of what was seen in the pre-Covid levels in the current year and to 88 percent in 2022. IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who took over recently, said the immediate challenge lied in reopening borders, eliminating quarantine measures and managing vaccination/testing certificates digitally.
OAG also spoke about UAE-India route potential
Last December, UK-based global flight information provider OAG said the UAE-India air route saw a capacity growth with the carriers increasing their seats by nearly 25 percent, compared to November. The Delhi-Dubai route figured among the top five busiest international routes in December while the Mumbai-Dubai route also finding itself among the top 10.
The scenario at this moment is though not too rosy when it comes to UAE-India air travel. Emirates has extended its suspension of passenger flights from India till the end of June in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases. The flight ban has been in force since April 24 and on May 5, it was extended by the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority. The fall in passengers’ footfalls from UK (which has put the UAE in the red list) and India is expected to hit the Middle East sheikhdom’s aviation industry but the IATA’s long-term forecast will be an encouraging news at least.
