Domestic air traffic reaches new high amid Diwali celebrations

Domestic air traffic reached a new high on Friday, as people headed out to native places and leisure destinations for Diwali celebrations.

Wishing everyone on Diwali, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that over 2,25,097 passengers travelled on 1,903 flights during the festive season. There was a total of 3,809 flight movements and around 4,47,870 footfalls at airports.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, domestic air travel resumed on May 25 with a cap on the number of flights being operated. Although, on November 11, the cap was increased from 60 per cent to 70 per cent of their pre-Covid levels.

Meanwhile, Delhi and Mumbai airports also saw the highest footfalls as the cities handled 81,570 and 46,442 passengers respectively, Business Standard reported.

"Last year's top routes during Diwali were dominated by routes between Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. This year, we see routes from business centers in the West and South to destinations in the North and East feature in the top 10 routes. This trend indicates that customers this year are preferring to return homes and spend time with their families," online portal Cleartrip.com told Business Standard.