31.13 lakh domestic air passengers in June, 47% higher than in May: DGCA

Around 31.13 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in June, 47 per cent higher than the 21.15 lakh who travelled in May, the country’s aviation regulator said Monday.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 57.25 lakh people had travelled within the country by air in April.

The drop in domestic air traffic in May was due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic that had badly hit the country and its aviation sector.

While IndiGo carried 17.02 lakh passengers in June, a 54.7 per cent share of the domestic market, SpiceJet flew 2.81 lakh passengers, accounting for a nine per cent share of the market, according to the data shared by the DGCA.

Air India, GO FIRST (previously known as GoAir), Vistara and AirAsia India carried 5.14 lakh, 2.58 lakh, 2.25 lakh and 1.07 lakh passengers, respectively in June, the data showed.

The occupancy rate or the load factor of the six major Indian airlines was between 54.4 per cent and 71 per cent in June, it stated.

The occupancy rate at SpiceJet was 71 per cent in June, the DGCA noted.

The occupancy rates for IndiGo, Vistara, GO FIRST, Air India and AirAsia India were 62.7 per cent, 60 per cent, 70.9 per cent, 58.4 per cent and 54.4 per cent, respectively, it added.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the pandemic.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 65 per cent of their pre-pandemic domestic flights.

The DGCA data mentioned that in June, IndiGo had the best on-time performance of 98.5 per cent at four metro airports -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

AirAsia India and SpiceJet were at the second and third positions at these four airports in June with 98.2 per cent and 96.7 per cent on-time performance respectively, the DGCA said.

All airlines in India have opted for cost-reducing measures such as pay cuts, leave without pay and layoffs in order to tide over the crisis.