Domestic air traffic up 19% to 11.4 mn in Sept due to discounted tickets

Domestic air passenger traffic grew by around 19 per cent year-on-year to 11.3 million in September, driven by the heavily discounted tickets that the airlines continue to offer despite steep hike in jet fuel price amid stiff competition.

At the same time, budget carrier IndiGo slipped to the third spot in on-time performance (OTP), with rival GoAir recording the highest OTP at 90.4 per cent from the four key airports in the country, as per the data released by aviation regulator DGCA Wednesday.

The number of passengers carried by domestic airlines stood at 11.3 million in September this year, against 9.5 million in the same month last year, registering a growth of 18.95 per cent, as per the data.

IndiGo maintained its market leader position, carrying 4.9 million passengers and grabbing a market share of 43.20 per cent in September, followed by Jet Airways, which flew 1.6 million passengers and cornered a market share of 14.2 per cent, the data showed.

SpiceJet carried 1.3 million passengers and had a market share of 12 per cent, while national carrier Air India flew 13.45 million passengers and grabbed a market share of 11.8 per cent.

The passenger load factor in September has shown increasing trend compared to the previous month due to beginning of festive season, the DGCA said.

According to the data, SpiceJet recorded the highest load factor during September at 93.2 per cent, followed by GoAir with 90.6 per cent.