Lack of social distancing by other passengers top concern among flyers: IndiGo survey

Lack of social distancing by other passengers is a top concern among flyers, stated a survey by IndiGo on Thursday that was conducted online between June 20 and June 28 among 25,000 travellers.

The survey found that air transport is considered the safest form of travel by a wide margin for inter-city travel -- 68 percent of respondents felt air travel is safe. While driving was considered safe by 24 percent of the travellers, rail travel was considered safe by just 8 percent.

"Factors such as lack of social distancing by other passengers (62 pc of respondents), quarantine measures by states (55 pc) and sitting in the aircraft with so many people (55 pc) have been identified as key deterrents for air travel," said the survey.

Nearly 54 percent respondents said they want to travel in the next 3 months, the survey noted.

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

However, the airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 45 percent of their pre-Covid domestic flights. Occupancy rate in Indian domestic flights have been around 50-60 percent since May 25.

IndiGo survey noted, "About 38 pc of customers are considering international travel, while 62 pc will focus solely on domestic travel in near future. 27 pc customers are considering a mix of domestic and international travel and 11 pc focussing solely on international travel."

William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, "While it is heartening that about 65 percent travellers trust IndiGo to deliver a clean and safe travel experience, we will continue to introduce new measures, products and services to further strengthen their confidence in air travel and IndiGo."