India’s booming air travel sector has the potential to support at least five major airlines , Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in an exclusive conversation with businessline .

In 2024, India’s total air passenger traffic grew by 7.72 per cent to 23.28 crore from 21.61 crore passengers in 2023.

“We have not just doubled the number of airports in the last 11 years, we have also doubled the passenger traffic in this time period,” Naidu said, adding that India is no longer a small aviation market.

“The current growth momentum of the industry has the potential to support at least five major airlines in the country having an average fleet size of over 100 aircraft.”

According to the Minister, new policies such as modified UDAN, new airport development, widening and dem

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