Amid COVID-19 Domestic Air Traffic Fell To A 7-Year Low In 2020

In 2020, airlines in India carried 63 million passengers, shows data from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). The domestic air traffic during the year slipped to a seven-year low during the year as a result of two-month lockdown and other restrictions on travel due to COVID-19.

In 2013, airlines had flown 61.4 million.

In 2019, airlines carried 144 million passengers domestically, which means there was a 56.2% fall in number of passengers in 2020.

Domestic airlines were grounded for two months (from 25 March to 25 May 2020) due to restrictions imposed by the government. There were also restrictions on running at full capacity after operations began in May.

In December, when airlines began running at higher capacity, airlines carried 7.3 million passengers, which is still 43.7% lower than the same month in 2019.

Airlines have been registering increase in travel and new flights with the government regulating the re-opening of the aviation market. At present, DGCA has permitted to to operate 80% of pre-COVID domestic flights on regulated fares that stay till 31 March 2021.

Data further showed that IndiGo airlines held 53.9% market share in December 2020. It was followed by SpiceJet (at 13%), Air India (10.2%), Go Air (8.9%), AirAsia India (6.9%) and Vistara (6.3%).