TBM Staff - Mumbai Domestic air traffic witnessed a significant 36 per cent year-on-year increase in May, with domestic airlines carrying 1.32 crore passengers. Meanwhile, with suspension of Go First’s operations, its 6.4 per cent market share has shifted to IndiGo.The latter’s market share has soared to 61.4 per cent in May from 57.5 per cent in April, per DGCA data. Compared to April’s 1.29 crore passengers, domestic air traffic in May saw a modest 2.5 per cent growth. Notably, the overall cancellation rate for scheduled domestic flights in May 2023 was significantly low at just 0.44 per cent. IndiGo carried the most number of passengers in May, serving 81.10 lakh of the total 1.32 crore domestic flyers. The three Tata airlines together transported 34.80 lakh passengers, while SpiceJet and Akasa Air carried 7.20 lakh and 6.29 lakh passengers, respectively. Overall, domestic passenger traffic in India in May rose by 15.2 per cent compared with the previous year, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels.
The combination of increased travel demand and Go First’s suspension led to improved passenger load factors for major Indian carriers. IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, AIX Connect, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air achieved load factors of over 90 per cent in May, with only SpiceJet, Vistara and Go First surpassing this threshold in April. IndiGo’s load factor rose to 91.5 per cent in May from 87.4 per cent in April, while Air India’s increased to 90.1 per cent from 87.9 per cent. Akasa Air experienced a jump in load factor to 91.1 per cent in May (84.9 per cent). AIX Connect saw its load factor rise to 92.8 per cent (89.4 per cent). SpiceJet’s load factor improved to 94.8 per cent ( 92.2 per cent), and Vistara’s load factor rose to 93.2 per cent (92.1 per cent). Meanwhile, on multiple routes, including destinations like Srinagar and Leh, fares rose due to Go First’s cancellations. The Civil Aviation Ministry has issued an advisory asking airlines to monitor airfares. (Source The Business Line)
