A report by Tourism Economics, commissioned by Etihad Airways, has brought to light facts impacting flight passengers of India and the UAE.
With the annual passenger volumes along the UAE–India air corridor approaching 25 million by 2035, the current capacity could mean that, annually, 10.8 million passengers then would not be able to secure seats.

The UAE is one of India’s busiest international corridors. The air travel demand between both the countries has been rising rapidly, expanding international trade and fostering tourism.

That said, in a decade – from 2026 to 2035 – the cumulative unmet demand is expected to reach 54.5 million passengers, signalling a warning that without renegotiation of the bilateral agreement on a war footing, air travel between India and the UAE is likely to become increasingly constrained. Such a situation would result in more than one in four prospective passengers not finding a flight in 2035.

The Abu Dhabi–India segment is also on the brink of a similar crisis. Currently, Abu Dhabi‑based carriers are capped at 50,000 weekly seats across 11 designated Indian cities. This capacity is fully utilised. If the present limit continues, the corridor would face a 13.2‑million‑passenger shortfall between 2026 and 2035, confirms the report.

There’s another reason why expanding capacity on the UAE–India corridor becomes essential. Travellers from tier‑2 cities such as Mangaluru, Goa, Pune, Lucknow, and Vadodara, are forced to take flights from Delhi and Mumbai, owing to the lack of direct connectivity from their respective locations. If an expansion is done, then these cities would play a significant role in decongesting metros, and unlock regional tourism as well, needless to mention the reduction in travel time.

The study highlights that Abu Dhabi‑based carriers could bring 1 million inbound visitors to Pune, and 0.8 million to Goa, in addition to 2.8 million travellers across other new destinations between 2026 and 2030. – editor@nrifocus.com