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Published on: Sept 02, 2025 04:27 pm IST
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Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said the exponential growth of 244% in International-to-International transfers is a strong testament to its emergence as a global transit hub
The Delhi airport has recorded one of the sharpest increases in transfer traffic in the region, with international-to-international (I-to-I) passenger transfers rising 244% in two years.
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said the exponential growth of 244% in I-to-I transfers is a strong testament to its emergence as a global transit hub.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) data showed I-to-I transfers jumped from 3,88,000 passengers in FY 2023 to 1.34 million in FY 2025. Overall, transfer traffic at the airport grew 30.6% during the same period, from 15.6 million passengers to 20.3 million. Domestic-to-domestic transfers rose 15.9% to 10.5 million.
DIAL, the airport operator, attributed the growth to Delhi’s position on the East–West corridor. The addition of new routes like IndiGo’s flights linking Bangkok and Phuket with Almaty, Tashkent, Tbilisi, and Baku alone led to nearly a 500% increase in I-to-I transfers along the Central Asia–Thailand corridor.
The IATA noted the Delhi airport stands out as the best directly connected to North America and Europe in South and Southeast Asia, offering global accessibility for passengers travelling through or to India.
In a statement, DIAL said strategic connectivity, paired with robust infrastructure and transit-friendly services, is propelling its stature as the preferred international layover airport in the region. It added that Delhi is the only Indian airport ranked among the top 10 hubs in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East in the 2024 Air Connectivity Ranking of Airports Council International Asia-Pacific & Middle East.
DIAL said more long-haul routes are expected with Air India and IndiGo expanding wide-body fleets.
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