November sees 20 per cent growth in air traffic

The passenger load factor (PLF) of major scheduled commercial airlines was between 66 to 77 per cent in the month of November.

Indian airlines flew 20 per cent more passengers in November than in October as the carriers were allowed to sell more tickets per flight and travellers felt more confident about flying amid the pandemic.

As many as 6.35 million passengers travelled by air in November compared to 5.27 million in the preceding month, a data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed. The number of passengers however declined 51 per cent from a year earlier in November.

It may be recollected that the Centre had allowed airlines to sell seats up to 70 per cent of an aircraft’s capacity on domestic flights during November which was subsequently increased to 80 per cent in early December thus boosting travel. Scheduled international flights however remain suspended at least till 31 December.

The passenger load factor (PLF) of major scheduled commercial airlines was 66-77 per cent in November higher than the 61-74 per cent reported in October but it was much below the 77-92 per cent recorded by airlines during the same period last year. In November, IndiGo recorded a 53.9 per cent market share and a 74 per cent PLF. It carried 3.42 million passengers during the month. SpiceJet, with a market share of 13.2 per cent registered a 77.7% load factor, ferrying 840,000 passengers.

Air India’s domestic load factor was at 69.6%, with a market share of 10.3 per cent. Air India, on the other hand, ferried 660,000 passengers. Vistara reported a load factor of 70.8 per cent and a 6.3 per cent market share, while AirAsia India reported a 66.3 per cent load factor and a 6.6 per cent market share. GoAir reported a 70.8 per cent load factor and a 9.1 per cent market share.