Air travel between non-metro cities may fly past traffic of eight metros this year

India's non metro market is taking off

Airline travel between non-metro cities is poised to surpass metro-to-metro traffic this fiscal, if the current growth trend continues, a Moneycontrol analysis of domestic aviation data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has shown.

While the eight metro cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Ahmedabad - accounted for 58.7 percent of total domestic passenger traffic in FY19, their share declined to 56.5 percent in FY24, and further to 51.1 percent in FY25.

Of the 165.4 million passengers who travelled through metro airports in FY25, as many as 84.6 million were on metro-to-metro routes. In FY19, this number stood at 82.8 million, indicating only modest growth in metro travel, compared to the surge in non-metro connectivity.

Over the longer term, the decline in metro dominance has been even more pronounced. In FY16, close to 70 percent of all air travel was to and from these eight metros. By FY19, this figure dropped to 37 percent, and as of FY25, it now stands at 33.2 percent. The shift has come amid growing emphasis on regional connectivity.

On June 2, Prime Minister Modi highlighted India's emergence as the world’s third-largest aviation market while speaking at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit in New Delhi, describing UDAN scheme - which promotes affordable air travel to smaller towns and cities - as a ‘golden chapter’ in India's aviation.

The Prime Minister also reaffirmed the government's goal of 500 million air travellers by 2030.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said government plans to add 50 new airports over the next five years, reinforcing government’s focus on expanding connectivity beyond the metros.