Article Posted on : - Feb 16, 2011

NEW DELHI (PTI): India and China will be among the five largest domestic aviation markets in the next two years but the US will remain at the top, the IATA has estimated, saying the focus of the global aviation industry will continue shifting eastward.

By 2014, the five largest markets for domestic passengers would be the United States with 671 million, China with 379 million, Japan (102 million), Brazil (90 million) and India (69 million), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its latest global forecast.

While China will record the highest compound annual growth rate in passenger traffic of 13.9 per cent contributing an additional 181 million passengers, India with 10.5 per cent will be among nations which will record double digit growth.

Other countries with double-digit growth would include Vietnam with 10.9 per cent, South Africa (10.6) and the Philippines (10.2), the figures published by the global airlines' body showed.

Noting that China would be the biggest contributor of new travellers, IATA said, of the estimated 800 million such passengers expected in 2014, 360 million or 45 per cent would travel on Asia-Pacific routes. Of these, 214 million will be associated with China in domestic and international travel.

The United States will remain the largest single country market for domestic passengers, projected at 671 million and will have 215 million international passengers.

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said the focus of the industry "continues to shift eastward. By 2014, almost one billion people will travel by air in Asia-Pacific. That is 30 per cent of the global total and a four percentage point increase from 26 per cent it represented in 2009".

A similar situation would prevail for aircargo as well with Asia-Pacific region estimated to account for 28 per cent of the global volumes, he said.

Asia-Pacific's international passenger demand was expected to grow 7.6 per cent, with China, Japan and Hong Kong becoming the biggest international passenger markets in the region by 2014.