Singapore-India market grows by 17%, despite bilateral constraints for SIA as Indian airlines expand

Growth in the Singapore-India market has accelerated significantly over the past year, despite Indian-imposed bilateral restrictions limiting expansion by the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group. Singapore-India passenger traffic has increased by 17% through the first eight months of 2017, driven partially by a surge in Indian visitor numbers to Singapore.

Indian airlines have been the main beneficiary of the growth, since Singapore-based airlines are now fully utilising their traffic rights to most Indian metros. Air India Express, IndiGo, Jet Airways have all launched new routes to Singapore over the past year.

More expansion from Indian airlines is likely, as they are still not fully making use of their rights in the existing Singapore-India air services agreement. A new bilateral agreement is a possibility, but would likely only provide Singaporean airlines with an incremental increase. Many features of India's aviation policy is still mired in protectionism - despite the policy's obvious failure over the years.