Sector Snapshot · Transport Services

India's Aviation Sector Doubles Down on Airport Expansion

A fast-read primer on India's transport services sector, led by aviation and logistics — the backdrop against which we benchmark every company's cost structure in this category.

#3
India's rank as largest domestic aviation market
350.49 mn
Air passenger traffic, FY26 (till Jan)
US$512 bn
Travel & tourism's contribution to GDP by 2028
163
Operational airports, 2025 (from 74 in 2014)
2,200+
Aircraft India will require by 2042

Passenger Traffic and Airport Infrastructure Both Keep Expanding

Air travel demand has grown consistently, matched by a rapidly expanding airport network.

Air Passenger Traffic (million)

FY22 → FY25

188.89mn
FY22
411.77mn
FY25

Operational Airports

2014 → 2025

74
2014
163
2025

What's Pushing the Sector Forward

Scale, rapid infrastructure expansion, and consistent policy support define this sector.

Scale
  • 3rd-largest domestic aviation market globally
Infrastructure Expansion
  • Airport network more than doubled since 2014, to 163 airports
Policy Support
  • 100% FDI permitted; automatic up to 49% for scheduled airlines

Recent Developments

A sample of the industry-wide and policy moves shaping the sector through early 2026.

Companies We Benchmark in This Sector

Listed Indian Transport Services companies in tDoBe's cost-benchmarking coverage.

Interglobe Aviation
Container Corporation
Delhivery
GE Shipping Co
SCI
Shadowfax Technologies
Blue Dart Express
Shreeji Shipping Global
Blackbuck (Zinka Logistics)
Transport Corporation of India
TVS Supply Chain Solutions
VRL Logistics
Mahindra Logistics
Kornex Microsystems
Afcom Holdings
SEAMEC Ltd
Gateway Distriparks
TCI Express

The Cost Benchmark — What We Actually FoundtDoBe Think Report

The market facts above are public background. What follows is tDoBe's own work: every "Other Expenses" line from these companies' own financial records, read by hand and sorted into one clear set of categories — not a keyword search, not each company's own way of reporting it.

7.7%
tDoBe Average — Other Expenses as % of net revenue
12.6×
Gap between the highest and lowest company
17
Cost categories, sorted by meaning
0.9%
Biggest single category — Repairs & Maintenance
FY25/26
Latest available financial records

Where Companies Land — Total Other Expenses

Each mark is one company's total Other Expenses as % of net revenue. No company is named here.

7.7%
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

tDoBe Average by Cost Category

Ranked from biggest to smallest.

Repairs & Maintenance
0.9%
Miscellaneous/Others
0.7%
Travel & Conveyance
0.5%
Freight/Distribution & Logistics
0.3%
Legal & Professional Fees
0.2%
Total Other Expenses
7.7%
Where the Cost Really Sits

Repairs & Maintenance leads at 0.9% of revenue, with Miscellaneous/Others (0.7%) close behind — a comparatively lean Other Expenses profile typical of this sector, where the biggest costs (fuel, materials, employee cost) sit outside the categories tracked here.

Why the Range Is Wide

Airlines, shipping lines, logistics platforms, e-commerce delivery and last-mile courier businesses all share this one sector code — genuinely different business models moving people and goods by very different means, driving a 12.6x spread.

Every Company Counted

All eleven companies collected for this sector are used in every ratio, with no exclusions.

See Where Your Own Company Stands

This is the free, sector-wide view. It tells you where Transport Services stands as a whole — not where your own company stands against it, category by category, in rupees.

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$999
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$4,999
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A below-average number is a reason to call too — the benchmark keeps improving as we go.

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Compiled from public government and industry sources, February 2026 update · Figures rounded · tDoBe sector snapshot, for informational purposes · Cost Benchmark findings compiled from companies' own financial records, FY2025/26.