{"id":"f-80ae245e0c-95946b13-9923-5e7c-940e-6d17604bacc4","title":"India's Global Travel Hits Record 2 Crore In 3 Months: Where Did Passengers Go, How Did They Fly?","description":"According to DGCA data, for the full calendar year 2025, 7.8 crore passengers flew on international routes to and from India – an 8% increase on the 7.2 crore recorded in 2024","timestamp":0,"category":"travel_and_lifestyle","headline":"India's Global Travel Hits Record 2 Crore In 3 Months: Where Did Passengers Go, How Did They Fly?","modifiedHeadline":"India Air Travel Reaches Record 2 Crore","subCategories":["scid_c3ff64bf"],"subcategoriesName":["Travel News"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"c80449a0-0ad6-472b-8d17-5747dd8f5c83","bundleTitle":"Around the globe","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"657","fcSummary":"international air travel to and from india reached a record 2 crore passengers in october-december 2025, marking a strong year with 7.8 crore total international passengers – an 8% increase from 2024. growth persisted despite challenges like us visa restrictions, canada's visa delays, and air india's capacity reduction following a tragic crash. indigo surpassed air india as the top international carrier, while the uae, thailand, and saudi arabia remained key travel corridors.","summary":"India's int'l air travel hits record 2 crore in Q4 2025, defying headwinds like visa delays & Air India capacity cuts. Growth continues.","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/news/IN/en/news18/f-80ae245e0c-95946b13-9923-5e7c-940e-6d17604bacc4","sourceUrl":"https://www.news18.com/india/indias-global-travel-hits-record-2-crore-in-3-months-where-did-passengers-go-how-did-they-fly-9932349.html","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/-skepm158A60.webp","content":"

International air travel to and from India crossed 2 crore passengers in the October-December 2025 period, a new quarterly record, as per DGCA data.

The milestone capped a strong year for Indian aviation

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despite a series of headwinds. According to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), for the full calendar year 2025, 7.8 crore passengers flew on international routes to and from India – an 8 percent increase on the 7.2 crore recorded in 2024. The quarter-on-quarter rise was close to 9 per cent, as per the data.

GROWTH DESPITE OBSTACLES

Growth came even as several factors weighed on traffic. US visa issuance slowed across categories, including students and H-1B applicants, during President Donald Trump’s second term that started last year.

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The United States has been strict on immigration and even high-skilled visas like H-1B, mostly used by Indian techies.

Canada’s high rejection rate for Indian visa applications, plus processing delays, also slowed down that route.

In another negative factor that could have hit traffic, Air India reduced its widebody capacity by 15 percent following the crash of flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad in June 2025, in which a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for Gatwick, London, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people – 241 of the 242 on board and 19 on the ground – in the deadliest aviation disaster of the decade.

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HOW DID PASSENGERS FLY?

This Air India capacity reduction reshaped market share among Indian carriers. The IndiGo overtook the Air India group as India’s largest carrier on international routes from the July-September 2025 quarter onwards, a change from recent years when the Air India group had held the top position since the collapse of Jet Airways, The Times of India reported.

Foreign carriers retained a 54 percent share of international passengers throughout the year, a figure that has remained broadly static. India has not given additional flying rights to most countries whose airlines operate here in significant numbers.

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Anil Kalsi, vice-president of the Travel Agents Federation of India, told TOI that approximately 1.5 crore passports were issued in India last year, yet only 33 to 35 lakh of those holders actually travelled abroad.

“We have a large number of passport holders who are aspiring to travel but have not yet done so,” Kalsi was quoted, adding that expanding visa-on-arrival access and a growing middle class would fuel continued growth.

WHAT WERE THE DESTINATIONS?

From India, most of the international air traffic, at over 70 percent, was handled by five major cities. Destinations across South and Southeast Asia have been particularly active.

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Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand count Indians among large groups of foreign visitors and high spenders. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the connection to or from for almost a third of the total international passengers.

Following the UAE, Thailand and Saudi Arabia represent the next most significant travel corridors. The United Kingdom, Singapore, Qatar, Malaysia, and Oman, also were among other notable connecting points.

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India's Global Travel Hits Record 2 Crore In 3 Months: Where Did Passengers Go, How Did They Fly?

SUMMARY