AI flew record 50,000 passengers on Sunday

Air India (AI), which has witnessed a nearly 17 per cent growth in daily passenger carriage so far this month, today said it flew a record 50,000 passengers on Sunday on its domestic and international network.

The national carrier, whose board would be meeting here tomorrow, said it flew 50,308 passengers on a single day which was "a record number" achieved for the first time since the 2007 merger, an Air India spokesman said.

The airline has seen a nearly 17 per cent growth in daily passenger carriage, as compared to the traffic in May last year.

With the upswing in passenger carriage in April this year, Air India's domestic market share rose to 18.2 per cent, bringing it on par with other full service carriers, the spokesperson said.

On the international sectors, Air India and Air India Express together accounted for 24.1 per cent of the market share.

Besides reviewing the airline's performance on all counts, the Board is likely to discuss the budget of the national carrier for the current fiscal.

The four newly-appointed independent directors, Mahindra Group Vice Chairman Anand Mahindra, Ambuja Realty Chairman Harsh Neotia, Ficci Secretary General Amit Mitra and former IAF chief Fali Homi Major are expected to attend the meeting.

The government has decided to infuse Rs 1,200 crore as equity in AI during the current financial year, after pushing in Rs 800 crore as equity in the last fiscal.