Market Trends of Aircraft Tugs Industry
Electric Segment is Anticipated to Register the Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period
Electric tugs have increased reliability and are easy to handle compared to conventional diesel or gas tugs. Also, the growing concern over airport emission levels has diverted the focus of airlines toward the use of electric-powered ground vehicles. In January 2021, Munich Airport unveiled its latest new addition to its ground handling fleet, an electric-powered tug capable of towing wide-body aircraft and achieving a maximum speed of 32 kilometers per hour.KLM Airlines tested electric tugs at the Amsterdam Schipol airport in 2020. The airport has also invested in hybrid tugs to reduce carbon emissions and save fuel as part of the green airport program. Several airports are also taking similar approaches globally to reduce the emissions from ground support vehicles. Such projects will be crucial and will pave the way for airports and airlines to enhance ground-handling services in the future.
Asia-Pacific to Witness Highest Growth During the Forecast Period
Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to register the highest growth in the next few years, primarily due to the major investments by governments in China and India towards increasing the number of airports. Over the past few years, there has been a rapid increase in passenger traffic handled by airports in countries like China, India, Japan, and South Korea, among others. Due to this, the government and airport authorities in the region have announced significant investments in the construction and expansion of airports. For instance, in April 2022, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of South Korea announced its plans to invest KRW 13.7 trillion (USD 10.97 billion) in constructing a new airport on Gadeok Island. The airport is expected to be an offshore airport (built on a floating structure at sea) and will cater to the growing air traffic demand in the country's southeast region.
Similarly, in February 2022, Adani Airport Holdings, a subsidiary of the Adani Group and the Airports Authority of India, was constructing an airport in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, for USD 2.3 billion. The new airport would be one of the world’s few "greenfield" international state-of-the-art airports, contributing world-class facilities. It will likely have the capacity to handle 60 million passengers a year by 2030 when it reaches full capacity. Investments and developments as such are going to drive the growth of the aviation market and turn the aircraft tugs market in this region.
