Domestic Air Traffic To Touch Pre-Covid Levels In 2 Months: Jyotiraditya Scindia
Daily air passenger numbers are likely to cross the pre-pandemic levels in the next two months, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday.
Addressing a event, the minister also urged states to reduce tax on jet fuel to boost the country's aviation sector.
During the pre-pandemic times, domestic airlines carried around four lakh passengers per day and the number began climbing up after second wave but again declined after the emergence of Omicron infections late last year.
Airlines were allowed to operate at full capacity from October 18, 2021.
"In November, December, we started hitting numbers of 3.8 to 3.9 lakh passengers per day. We were almost back to pre-Covid levels. With Omicron, number of travellers tanked we fell to 1.6 lakh per day. So we had a contraction of about 65-70 per cent," the minister said.
"All things remaining equal, in the next two months or so, you should see us crossing pre-Covid levels in terms of daily passengers... that will herald new demand, new capacity coming in, both at airports and airlines," Mr Scindia said.
Last month, domestic airlines carried 64.08 lakh passengers, a decline of 17.14 per cent compared to the year-ago period. In January last year, the traffic stood at 77.34 lakh passengers, according to data provided by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The country's civil aviation sector was significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the sector's loss was around Rs 19,000 crore in the last fiscal ended March 2021.
In the wake of the pandemic, domestic commercial flights were suspended for two months starting from March 25, 2020 while commercial international flights remain suspended since March 23, 2020. Currently, overseas flights are being operated under bilateral air bubble arrangements.
Mr Scindia also urged states to reduce the value added tax (VAT) levied on air turbine fuel (ATF), which accounts for about 40 per cent of an airline's operational costs.
The minister said that 24 states and union territories have cut VAT on jet fuel.
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