Already the world’s fastest growing aviation market, India’s boom phase is expect- ed to persist in 2017 and beyond. Domestic passenger traffic jumped by 23% last year to nearly 100 million,propelled by econom- ic growth and cheap fares to its fastest clip in the last decade. International passen- ger traffic for the January- September period climbed 11% year-on-year to 39.8 mil- lion, according to latest government data. The country is on track to over- take Japan to become the world’s third largest domestic aviation market behind the US and China in the current financial year ending Mar. 31, the Sydney-based Center for Aviation (CAPA) has predicted. Moreover, the sector has dramatic headroom for more growth, India’s Junior Aviation Minster Jayant Sinha said last month. Given that only a sliver of its one billion-plus population currently travels by air, there is little doubt that India will reach its goal of raising domestic passenger traffic to 300 million by 2022 and 500 million by 2027, when international passenger traffic is expected to reach 200 million.
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