Indian airports soar as transit hubs for international travellers

Country's 6 leading airports see near doubling of foreign transit traffic in a year

Major Indian airports are increasingly becoming global connecting hubs, with international transit traffic for Indian carriers nearly doubling over the past year. 

The number of international passengers on Indian carriers passing through six major Indian airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad — to reach their final destinations increased by 97.09 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 68,305 in February, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium’s data reviewed by Business Standard. The top six final destinations for these transit passengers were Dhaka, Kathmandu, Colombo, Bangkok, Singapore, and Dubai.

This growth is being capitalised more by full-service carriers, such as Air India and Vistara, than by low-cost carriers like IndiGo. In absolute numbers, IndiGo’s international transit traffic through the six airports increased by 48.6 per cent Y-o-Y in February 2024. 

Acording to Cirium’s data, the share of transit traffic in IndiGo’s total international traffic saw only a small increase from 2.17 per cent in February 2023 to 2.49 per cent in February 2024.

In contrast, the share of transit traffic in Air India’s total international traffic surged from 2.84 per cent in February 2023 to 5.2 per cent in February 2024. Vistara saw a similar trend, with its share of transit traffic in total international traffic soaring from 2.54 per cent in February 2023 to 5.35 per cent in February 2024.

Senior airport executives in the country attribute the boom in transit traffic for Air India and Vistara to their status as full-service carriers. “Full-service carriers provide a consistent service to passengers travelling on multi-leg journeys. Travellers are less anxious about issues such as luggage handling and meal quality, especially when one of the legs is on a codeshare flight,” an airport official noted. “This level of seamless service is something low-cost carriers find difficult to match.”

When an airline enters a codeshare partnership with another, each airline can sell seats on the other’s flights. This allows passengers to easily book connecting flights with different airlines on the same PNR (ticket number). Airport officials stated that the overall outlook for international transit traffic in India remains highly optimistic as Indian carriers are significantly increasing their international flights and signing more codeshare partnerships.

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In a bid to build on this uptick in transit passengers, IndiGo is looking to optimise its international flight network, while Air India has retimed some of its flights to enable convenient connections. Vistara, on the other hand, is banking on its “strategic codeshare and interline partnerships”.

Ameya Joshi, aviation researcher and founder of the aviation blog Network Thoughts, told Business Standard: “Indian carriers have been actively chasing transit traffic since before the Covid-19 pandemic. The privatisation of Air India, and expansion of IndiGo in newer markets will give a further boost. A well-aligned network that facilitates seamless travel from the east of India to the west, and vice versa, with new destinations, helps attract more passengers.”

According to Joshi, the next step for Indian carriers will be the “premiumisation” of their product/offerings, allowing them to charge higher prices accordingly.

In the international market, the point-to-point market supported by a well-managed airport hub makes all the difference. Indian airport operators can also assist Indian carriers in boosting transit traffic by offering services, such as global cuisine and seamless transfers through inter-terminal connectivity, Joshi mentioned.

Airlines’ perspective on this boom

An IndiGo spokesperson told Business Standard that the airline, while optimising its international flight network, tries to achieve the most commercially viable combination. “We are actively developing our international transit connectivity in line with customer needs. IndiGo is now focusing on building India into a global aviation hub with a strong and well-connected domestic market, by creating transit connections like Dubai-Bangkok, Bahrain-Phuket, Kuwait-Phuket, Sharjah-Jeddah, Dhaka-Riyadh, amongst others,” the spokesperson said.

An Air India spokesperson said that India’s location is ideal for flows between points in Europe and the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. “Since January 2023, we have added new flights from Delhi to Birmingham, Milan, Copenhagen, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Zurich in Europe, which are complemented by new flights to Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dhaka, along with frequency increases to Kathmandu, Colombo, Singapore, and Bangkok,” the spokesperson added.

Air India has retimed some of its flights to enable convenient connections for those travelling between these regions. Its flights on the Mumbai-Melbourne route now enable “seamless” two-way connectivity between London (Heathrow Airport) and Melbourne via Delhi and Mumbai.

“In addition to offering a better customer experience, the full-service model has an inherent advantage. Our extensive route network and partnerships with other airlines provide passengers with greater flexibility and choice, which translates to more availability, especially for complex itineraries. Standard baggage allowances that allow for more than carry-on baggage, access to lounges around the world, and the convenience of same-terminal connections at Delhi T3 are some of the other advantages that passengers value," the Air India spokesperson mentioned.

Furthermore, an onboard experience that includes services, such as increased legroom and complimentary meals, has become increasingly important for passengers on long international flights with stopovers, the spokesperson added.

A Vistara spokesperson told Business Standard that the airline has been witnessing steady growth in its international transit traffic ever since it started its international operations in August 2019. “With prudent network planning and optimisation of our flight schedules, our endeavour is to offer convenient and efficient transit options to our customers. Leveraging India’s geographical position as an ideal transit point between the East and the West, our hub airports in Delhi and Mumbai have evolved as pivotal junctions for efficient passenger movements. Moreover, our strategic codeshare and interline partnerships with leading international airlines have enabled us to offer consistent and seamless travel experiences across a wider array of destinations,” the spokesperson added.