Increased scrutiny of visa applications by the Donald Trump administration has led to a decline in leisure and student travel from India to the US, a representative of the global airline body IATA said in the city on Friday.

“The number (of passengers) is going down. Leisure and student travel, especially,” said the official of the International Air Transport Association. He was at a workshop organised by the IATA and the Travel Agents Federation of India (Tafi).

“Other destinations are seeing more people from India. Places in Southeast Asia, like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, which provide visas on arrival for Indians, are witnessing a rise in tourists from India,” the official said.

The Trump administration has reportedly halted new student visa interviews as it considers requiring foreign students to undergo social media vetting as part of the application process to study in the US.

This newspaper has reported how students aspiring to study in the US, many of whom have received offers from American universities, are growing anxious as new restrictions threaten their plans.

Representatives of airlines, travel agents and organisations facilitating visa applications attended the workshop.

Ritam Saha, assistant director of passenger and cargo services — India, Nepal and Bhutan, IATA; Hussein Bhopalwala, industry affairs manager at IATA; a team from VFS Global Kolkata; and representatives of carriers like flydubai, Air Arabia, Thai Airways and Etihad Airways were among those who attended.

The attendees observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash.

The workshop shed light on several aviation trends in India, based on figures shared by the IATA. The Telegraph lists some

Busy routes

In terms of geographical regions, West Asia is the most frequented destination for Indian fliers, followed by Asia Pacific, Europe, the US and Latin America, according to figures from the IATA, an association of around 350
airlines.

India is the biggest source market for West Asia. In 2024, around 15 million Indians flew to the region. Close to 8 million went to the UAE. Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia were among the other popular destinations.

Around 12 million Indians flew to Asia Pacific countries.

Europe had just under 10 million Indians, and the US recorded 4.8 million.

Load factor

The occupancy rate of domestic flights in India is more than the global average.

Globally, domestic flights have an occupancy rate of 82 per cent. In India, the rate is 88 per cent, the figures show.

Covid effect

The number of domestic fliers per day has surpassed the pre-Covid level in India. The number of international fliers is just about to reach the pre-pandemic level.

Before the pandemic, 4,00,000 Indians took domestic flights every day. The number of daily international passengers was around 200,000.

Now, the number of domestic fliers is around 4,50,000. The number of international fliers is around 1,90,000.

“The workshop was attended by several key stakeholders in the aviation sector. Many topical issues were discussed,” said Anil Punjabi, national committee member, Tafi, representing the eastern region.