The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its monthly report on Monday said that around 76.96 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in February, approximately 20 per cent more than the 64.08 lakh who flew in January. The February figure is a sign that the domestic aviation market is recovering after the 43 perncent dip that was observed in January due to the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus.
In December last year, 1.12 crore domestic passengers travelled by air. The passenger load factors -- which means occupancy rates -- increased for all Indian carriers in February as compared to January. The load factors of SpiceJet, IndiGo, Vistara, Go First, Air India and AirAsia India were 89.1 percent, 85.2 percent, 87.1 percent, 87 percent, 84.1 percent and 83.2 percent, respectively, in February 2022, it mentioned.
However, in January 2022, the occupancy rates of these carriers had been 73.4 percent, 66.6 percent, 61.6 percent, 66.7 percent, 60.6 percent and 60.5 percent, respectively, it added. In the last two years, the aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the Covid pandemic.
IndiGo — India's largest carrier — carried 39.51 lakh passengers in February, a 51.3 per cent share of the domestic market, the DGCA said. SpiceJet flew 8.2 lakh passengers and Air India flew 8.55 lakh passengers in February, according to the data shared by the DGCA.
Vistara, Go First, AirAsia India and Alliance Air carried 7.49 lakh, 7.34 lakh, 4.46 lakh and 1.12 lakh passengers, respectively, in February, the data showed.