28.32 lakh domestic air passengers in Aug, 76% lower than in Aug 2019: DGCA

A total of 28.32 lakh domestic passengers traveled by air in August this year, 76 percent lower than the corresponding period last year, aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. While IndiGo carried 16.82 lakh passengers, a 59.4 percent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 3.91 lakh passengers, which is 13.8 percent share of the total market, the DGCA data noted. These two airlines were followed by Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara, and GoAir at 2.78 lakh, 1.92 lakh, 1.42 lakh, and 1.33 lakh passengers respectively in August, the data showed.

As many as 21.07 lakh people traveled by air domestically this July, the regulator had said last month. The occupancy rate or load factor for five out of six major Indian airlines was between 58 and 69 percent in August, it said Wednesday.

"The passenger load factor in Aug 2020 has shown some recovery due to increased demand after the opening of lockdown," said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The occupancy rate in SpiceJet was 76 percent in August, the regulator noted. However, the occupancy rate for other major airlines Vistara, IndiGo, AirAsia India, GoAir, and Air India stood at 68.3 percent, 65.6 percent, 64.4 percent, 61 percent, and 58.6 percent, respectively, according to the DGCA.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 60 percent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. A total of 19.84 lakh passengers traveled domestically in June this year. Between May 25 and May 31, 2.81 lakh air passengers had traveled domestically, the DGCA noted.

The DGCA data mentioned that in August, IndiGo had the best on-time performance of 98.5 percent at four metro airports - Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. AirAsia India and Vistara were at number two and three at these four airports with 97.6 percent and 95.9 percent on-time performance, respectively, the regulator said.

Vistara and Air India canceled 14.99 percent and 12.05 percent of their flights in August, the DGCA mentioned. The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries given the coronavirus pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave without pay, and firings of employees to conserve the cash flow.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)