India suspends flights till May 17 as losses for airlines mount in lockdown

Airlines had zero passengers for the last six days in March, according to data released by the country's aviation regulator.

India suspended domestic and international passenger flights till May 17 as part of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus but hurting domestic airlines that reported Rs 8,000 crore in losses in April.
 

Airlines had zero passengers for the last six days in March, according to data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In March, airlines flew 7.8 million passengers, against 11.5 million in the same month last year.
 

According to the latest estimates by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines in India are likely to suffer a revenue loss of $11.2 billion, leading to 2.9 million jobs at risk as passenger demand will fall by 47 per cent. The latest estimates from IATA indicate a worsening of the impact from the pandemic and travel restrictions in the Asia Pacific region.

From March 24 midnight, India had announced a nationwide lockdown — one of the harshest measures declared by any government across the world — to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.
 

DGCA said on Twitter international cargo flights and those it permits would not be part of the ban measure.