India's air traffic to return to pre-Covid levels later this year: Boeing

India's civil aviation ministry has allowed airlines to operate 80 per cent of capacity

Boeing expects air traffic in India to recover to pre-Covid level by end of this year. International traffic will recover only by 2023, said Boeing India president Salil Gupte on Thursday.

"Our customers are cautiously optimistic about demand recovery," Gupte said, adding that visiting friends and relatives will drive growth in India. Business travel will come back in India earlier than other markets, he remarked.

Domestic air traffic halved in 2020 compared to 2019 when a weeks-long lockdown shuttered aviation. The civil aviation ministry now allows airlines to operate 80 per cent of capacity. While traffic is growing month on month, industry wide load factors remain around 70 per cent.

About letting back 737 Max aircraft , Gupte said Boeing is in discussions with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on the issue. The decision regarding return to service will be based on DGCA's assessment and Boeing is providing the regulator all the required details, he added.

SpiceJet is the only Indian operator with Boeing 737 Max in its fleet and 13 aircraft of the type. Totally it has 205 Boeing 737 Max planes on order. 

Earlier this week European aviation safety regulator cleared the aircraft operations. US Federal Aviation Administration cleared 737 Max return to servicd last November.

Globally hundreds of Boeing 737 Max aircraft were grounded following air crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019.