India's September domestic air traffic rises by 20 percent: IATA

India's domestic air passenger traffic grew in double digits for the 49th consecutive month in September, a global airline association said on Monday.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said India's domestic air passenger volume measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) was highest among major aviation markets like Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia, and the US. As per the data, India's domestic RPK in the month under review rose by 19.8 percent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

India's domestic passenger traffic growth was followed by that of the Russian Federation at 11.1 percent and China at 9.3 percent. In terms of capacity, India's domestic available seat kilometres (ASK) -- which measures available passenger capacity -- was higher by 18.8 percent in September, that of China's 10.3 percent and the US saw an 8.6 percent rise.

Air Passenger Traffic in India, both domestic and international witnessed a positive growth in the year 2016-17 as well compared to the previous year. As per DGCA statistics, the domestic passenger traffic registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.89% during the period 2007-08 to 2016-17 while the international passenger traffic grew at 8.07% (CAGR) during the same period. During the years from 2007-08 to 2016-17, the capacity (ASK) in the domestic market grew at a rate of 7.58%(CAGR) while the demand (RPK) grew at 10.03% (CAGR) during the same period.

The high growth of 21.77 % in the total domestic passengers during 2016-17 was mainly due to the high growth in passengers carried by IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara and Go Air.

In the year 2016-17, both ASK and RPK in the domestic market registered a positive growth compared to the previous year. The Passenger Load Factor in the domestic market, which fell to 73.3% in 2013-14, is steadily increasing thereafter.