India's busiest airports in Delhi and Mumbai looked packed with a surge in passenger traffic, as passenger traffic hit 86 per cent of pre-covid levels in January 2023. The aviation ministry has also been urged to cap prices, as demand has set to surpass pre-pandemic volumes.
According to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the 2.46 crore flyers traveled within India in February 2023, compared to 1.41 crore in the same period last year.
Higher traffic despite lower flights per week
The increase of almost a crore passengers for domestic airlines reflects a 74.50 per cent year on year rise in demand for the aviation sector.
Between January and February, the surge is 56.82 per cent, and it comes despite a drop in the number of flights for the winter schedule for 2022-23, from the previous year.
Flights in the summer schedule for this year are also lower than last year, although higher passenger traffic is expected with the sector gliding towards a full recovery.
Akasa outperforms Air India
As former national carrier and now Tata's flagship airline Air India struggled with delays and cancellations possibly due to a crew shortage, the sector clocked a 0.25 per cent cancellation rate.
Market leader Indigo maintained punctuality with 88.8 per cent flights on four major airports arriving on time.
Indigo was followed by Akasa, which has performed better than Air India and Visatara, less than a year after its launch.
