Domestic air passenger traffic remained 44 per cent lower in the April-December 2021 to 111 lakh as against the corresponding period of FY20, but saw a jump of 52 per cent compared to December 2021, according to rating agency ICRA.

The rating agency stated that the emergence of new coronavirus variant and reactionary restrictions impacting air travel remain near term-challenges for the airline industry.

The airlines’ capacity deployment for December 2021 was around 35% higher than December 2020 (86,465 departures in December 2021 against 64,002 departures in December 2020). On a sequential basis, the number of departures in December 2021 was higher by ~7%, as Covid-19 infections demonstrated a downward trajectory.

Suprio Banerjee, Vice President & Sector Head, ICRA Limited said, “For December 2021, the average daily departures were at ~2,800, notably higher than the average daily departures of ~2,065 in December 2020, and somewhat higher than ~2,700 in November 2021."

(With inputs from PTI)