10.5 mn domestic air passengers in Nov, 17% higher than Oct: DGCA

Around 1.05 crore domestic passengers travelled by air in November, 17.03 per cent higher than the 89.85 lakh who travelled in October, the country's aviation regulator said on Friday.

While IndiGo carried 57.06 lakh passengers in November, a 54.3 per cent share of the domestic market, SpiceJet flew 10.78 lakh passengers, accounting for a 10.3 per cent share of the market, according to the data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Air India, Go First (previously known as GoAir), Vistara, AirAsia India and Alliance Air carried 9.98 lakh, 11.56 lakh, 7.93 lakh, 6.23 lakh and 1.20 lakh passengers, respectively, in November, the data showed.

The occupancy rate for SpiceJet was 86.7 per cent in November, the DGCA noted. The occupancy rates for IndiGo, Vistara, Go First, Air India and AirAsia India were 80.5 per cent, 77 per cent, 78.2 per cent, 82 per cent and 74.6 per cent, respectively, in November, it added.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the pandemic.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to coronavirus.

The DGCA data mentioned that in November 2021, Vistara had the best on-time performance of 84.4 per cent at four metro airports -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

AirAsia India and IndiGo were at the second and third positions at these four airports in November with 82.4 per cent and 80.5 per cent on-time performance respectively, the DGCA said.

During the last two years, all airlines in India have opted for cost-reducing measures such as pay cuts, leave without pay and layoffs in order to tide over the coronavirus-induced crisis.