India records historic milestone, transporting more than half a million passengers in one day
November 20, 2024
The record-breaking figure of 505,412 domestic passengers departing across the country in a single day was achieved in 3,173 flights. Airlines maintained an average of 3,161 flights per day in November 2024. The record-breaking number came after what had been a subdued October and followed market leader IndiGo’s first quarterly loss (in Q2-FY25) for seven quarters. It was achieved despite significant capacity limitations, with infrastructure development continuing to lag demand, and with passenger numbers constrained by airport congestion, delays and missed connections, and by large numbers of security incidents.
The construction of new airports and the modernisation of existing airports is positioning the industry for accelerated growth in 2025, with a new Delhi airport opening, and a new Mumbai airport launching in 2025.
The record-breaking passenger total came after a two-week surge in air traffic, following the end of Diwali, as the wedding season began, and as school holiday-focused travel transitioned to festival-centric trips. Passenger counts increased from 490,000 on November 8, hitting 496,000 on November 9, 497,000 on November 14 and 499,000 on November 15.
The 500,000-passenger milestone has been welcomed as a sign of greater sector resilience, and though sector growth continues to lag Indian GDP growth, the aviation sector has exceeded IATA recovery predictions.
