Domestic Air Passenger Traffic Rises 13% In October, Says Regulator

Domestic air passenger traffic grew by 13.34 per cent in October, data from aviation regulator DGCA or Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed on Thursday. According to the monthly report, 1.18 crore passengers were ferried by domestic airlines in October, up from 1.045 crore reported during the corresponding month of 2017.

According to the data, passenger traffic during the January-October 2018 period grew 20 per cent.

"Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-October 2018 were 1,146.37 lakh (11.46 crore) as against 954.45 lakh (9.54 crore) during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 20.11 per cent," the DGCA said in its monthly domestic traffic report.

The data disclosed that low-cost carrier SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) -- a measure of capacity utilisation of the airline -- at 90.8 per cent during October.

"This is the 43rd month-in-a-row that we have flown with the highest loads in India. This has set a new benchmark in global aviation and we are proud of that," said Shilpa Bhatia, chief sales and revenue officer, SpiceJet.

SpiceJet was followed by GoAir with a PLF of 84.1 per cent and IndiGo at 83.1 per cent and AirAsia India at 82.8 per cent.

"The passenger load factor in the month of October 2018 has shown increasing trend compared to previous month due to the onset of tourist season," the monthly statistical analysis statement said.