The domestic aviation market in India grew by 20.2% in 2015 in comparison to 2014, which is almost equal to the combined percentage year-over-year growth of other major countries namely China, the US, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

The experts have attributed the robust growth to improved business sentiments and falling fuel prices. Low fares due to competition among the airlines also contributed to the growth.

According to the latest data released by International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade body representing some 260 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic, the revenue passenger kilometer (RPK) in domestic sector in India grew by 20.2% in comparison to the previous year, making it the highest in the world.

Revenue Passenger Kilometer is a measure of the volume of passengers carried by an airline during a given period. According to industry parlance, a passenger who pays commercial remuneration for travelling is called a revenue passenger and therefore does not include employees of airlines and those others not charged for it.

In comparison, China, which is apparently in a slowing down mode, saw a 10.9% growth in domestic passenger market. Similarly, Russia grew by 6.2%, while the US, backed by a strong economic growth, saw the fastest increase since 2004 and came a distant fourth, with 4.9% rate of growth. Australia, Brazil, and Japan grew by mere 0.4%, 0.8% and 1.9% respectively.

"On a global scale, the domestic air travel rose by 6.3% in 2015. All markets showed growth, led by India and China, but there was wide variance," said the IATA report.

The report comes a day after a projection made by the aviation consultancy firm CAPA, which expects the domestic air traffic market to touch over 100 million by 2016-17. According to an estimate, about 81 million passengers flew domestic airlines in the country.

"The business sentiments have improved in the past over a year due to a stable government at the Centre. At the same time, due to the competition and falling fuel prices, the airlines have not increased fares. It has remained somewhat similar to that of last year. Overall, it has helped in pushing the domestic travel market in India," said Iqbal Mulla, president, Global Tourism Council, an aviation and tourism consultancy group.

Though the domestic passengers growth comes as a positive news, the airlines in India are severely in debt with just a couple of airlines making profit with combined debt at over Rs 72,252 crore, CAPA said in its Aviation Outlook 2016 report last year.