Domestic aviation sector expected to return to normal

Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said the sector remained resilient during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to return to normal in next two to three months.

New Delhi: In the next two to three months, the domestic civil aviation sector is expected to return to normal, said Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola here on Thursday.

"The sector remained resilient during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but I don't think that the bad period is over. It will take the next two to three months for the country's domestic civil aviation sector to return to its normal. Big countries like India which have huge domestic market are where future of the aviation lies," he said.

Kharola was speaking at a webinar organised by industry body FICCI.

In December, Fitch Ratings expected average revenue passenger kilometres for India's airlines to remain 40 per cent below 2019 levels in 2021 despite recovering from being 65 per cent lower in 2020.

Domestic passenger traffic remains weak since flights resumed in late May after a two-month restriction with September data showing a 66 per cent year-on-year drop (58 per cent decline for 9M 20).

The government restricted airline capacity at 70 per cent of the March level and imposed fare bands until late February 2021.

(ANI)