French aerospace and defence major Thales sees significant opportunities emerging across airport infrastructure, avionics, inflight entertainment, connected aircraft, air traffic management and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services as India’s aviation ecosystem expands. “India has emerged as the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market, with passenger traffic projected to reach around 1.1 billion by 2040.
As the aviation ecosystem continues to expand with a growing aircraft fleet, passenger volumes and MRO capabilities, we see substantial opportunities in airport modernisation, regional connectivity, air traffic management and the adoption of digital technologies that enhance safety, operational efficiency and the overall passenger experience,” Ankur Kanaglekar, Vice President–India, Thales, told Financial Express.
The company, which already supplies avionics, airport technologies and digital solutions to airlines including Air India and IndiGo, said airline requirements are also evolving rapidly as carriers shift towards integrated, technology-driven operations. “We are seeing an evolution in how airline customers define requirements across the aircraft lifecycle.
Airlines are moving from standalone onboard systems to integrated, data-driven experiences that improve operational performance, passenger satisfaction and long-term fleet value,” Kanaglekar said. He added that connected aircraft, cybersecurity, modular avionics, next-generation inflight entertainment and personalised digital passenger experiences are becoming key priorities for airlines.
Beyond aircraft systems, Thales is expanding its presence in India’s aviation services ecosystem. The company recently established an avionics MRO facility in Gurugram to repair critical, high-volume avionics components for the Airbus A320 family, serving customers such as Air India and IndiGo. It also opened an Inflight Entertainment and Services Lab in Bengaluru to support software development and testing for airline customers.
As airlines continue to place record aircraft orders, Thales sees the bigger opportunity lying in the digital infrastructure and technologies that will power the country’s next phase of aviation growth.
