New Delhi: As the country sees a steady decline in Covid-19 cases, domestic passenger traffic in the Indian aviation sector crossed the one lakh mark on Saturday after more than a month. According to the data released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, 1,07,371 passengers travelled to their destinations in 1,124 flights on June 12.
Domestic passenger traffic had fallen below the one lakh mark on May 3, as only 97,761 passengers flew on 1,306 flights, indicating lower demand as people remain averse to travelling due to the rise in the second wave of Covid-19 infections. "The second wave will push back revival of business travel and pick-up of international traffic, which account for over half of overall traffic. Given this backdrop, we now expect traffic volumes this fiscal to be ~60% of fiscal 2020 levels and recovery to pre-pandemic levels happening only by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023," said Manish Gupte, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings.
"Traffic volumes are expected to rebound once the present affliction curve starts to flatten. A ramp-up in domestic traffic was seen after the recommencement of airport operations in May 2020, with total passenger traffic reaching ~60% of fiscal 2020 levels by February 2021, i.e. within 9 months of the first domestic travel advisory. And a much faster recovery is expected this time based on the vaccination drive, push from the government to limit the economic impact and recovery trajectory seen in countries that have emerged from a second wave," he added.
