According to a new report by UnivDatos, the India Short-Haul Aircraft Market is expected to reach USD Million in 2033 by growing at a CAGR of 18.45% during the forecast period (2025-2033F). The short-haul aircraft market in India includes aircraft that are mainly utilized on domestic and near international flights, usually less than -2-3 hours, between metros and tier-1/2/3 cities, and in high-frequency services. Single aisle narrowbodies dominate the portion of trunk routes, which are supplemented by regional aircraft (turboprops and smaller jets) where demand is weaker, or the airport infrastructure is limited. Several factors support market momentum, such as high growth in domestic travel, growing urbanization and disposable incomes, growing airline network depth, and ongoing airport development in states. Slot constraints at large airports also influence capacity, forcing carriers to move to more extensive utilization, shorter turnaround, and gauge optimization to achieve maximum use of the seats and keep the schedule reliable.

Driver: Sustained domestic passenger growth

The long-term growth of domestic passengers is the focal force behind the short-haul segment of the Indian aircraft market. The increasing disposable incomes, growing middle-income, and increased mobility are broadening the traveller base beyond the leading metros to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The penetration of low-cost carriers and controlled stimulation of fares is hastening a modal displacement between rail and road to air in alternate 300-1,500 km between 300-1,500 km sectors where time is the prize. Increasing passenger volumes are driving airlines to increase frequency on routes dominated by businesses, enhance hub-and-spoke connectivity, and open thinner city pairs as traffic matures. The outcome is a structural requirement of increased narrowbody and regional capacity, quicker turnarounds on aircraft, and increased daily use. To OEMs, lessors, and MRO providers, this is an increased installed fleet, replacement demand as older jets retire, and the existing desire for fuel-efficient aircraft with short cycles and fast maintenance. It is also conducive to profitability by way of overall improved load factors.

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According to ICRA, in October 2025, the domestic air passenger traffic in India was estimated at 142.8 lakh, 4.5% higher than 136.6 lakh in October 2024 and 12.9% higher than 126.4 lakh in September 2025.

According to the report, the upgrading of high-density domestic corridors was one of the key trends that would be conducive to the market rise:

High-density domestic up-gauging is an emerging fleet and network trend in the short-haul market in India. On trunk routes like metro-to-metro and metro-to-large tier-1, the rate of demand growth is exceeding the capacity of airports to introduce proportionate new slots. Airlines are reacting by using bigger narrowbodies and more compact cabin designs to raise the number of seats per move and unit economics. Bigger-gauge planes also contribute to carriers' peak-hour capacity, lowering the operating cost per seat, and better utilizing limited gate and runway capacity- especially at busy hubs. Operationally, to enable schedule reliability, up-gauging helps to cluster frequencies in which the turnaround infrastructure would be stretched and still preserves connectivity waves in the hub-and-spoke networks. To lessors and OEMs, this moves near-term demand towards high-density single-aisle versions, and it puts a premium on performance, quick turn times, and a high level of dispatch reliability on short-cycle operations.

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