Indian domestic air traffic down 65.82% annually during September
More people flew in September as compared to August, when airlines flew 2.83 million passengers during the monthThe passenger load factor (PLF) of major scheduled commercial airlines stood at 57-73%
New Delhi: Indian airlines carried 3.94 million passengers during September, down by 65.82% from the same period of the previous year, due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic that has muted travel appetite, according to monthly data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
However, more people flew in September as compared to August, when airlines flew 2.83 million passengers during the month.
The passenger load factor (PLF) of major scheduled commercial airlines stood at 57-73%. In September 2019, the PLF for major carriers stood at 79-93%. PLF, or load factor, measures the capacity utilization of transport services, including airlines.
India’s largest airline IndiGo had a 57.5% market share in September with a 65.4% load factor. It carried 2.27 million passengers during the month.
SpiceJet, which has a market share of 13.4%, registered a 73% load factor to ferry 0.53 million passengers during the month.
Air India’s domestic load factor stood at 57.9% in September with a market share of 9.4%. The national carrier ferried 0.37 million passengers during the month.
Vistara, the joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, reported a load factor of 66.7% and a 6.6% market share, while AirAsia India, a Tata Sons-AirAsia Berhad venture, reported 58.4% load factor and a 6% market share during the period. GoAir, which is controlled by the Wadia Group, reported 57.6% load factor and a 6.7% market share. During September, Vistara carried 0.26 million passengers, while AirAsia India carried 0.24 million passengers and GoAir carried 0.26 million passengers.
Around 44.06 million passengers were carried by domestic airlines during January-September, against 105.89 million during the corresponding period of the previous year, registering an annual fall by 58.39%.
During September, Air India cancelled 10.62% of its flights, while the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines was at 2.58%.
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