Maharashtra govt's mandatory RT-PCR test norm may affect airline demand

The Maharashtra government’s decision to make RT-PCR tests mandatory for travel from four states will likely hit airline demand. Domestic airlines are operating around 1,900 flights daily.  Mumbai-Delhi remains the busiest route in the country with around 50 daily flights.

In the pre-Covid time, there were around 120 flights each day between two cities. Currently, Vistara is operating the largest number of flights between Mumbai and Delhi (7-8 in each direction) and the route accounts for 11-13 per cent of its total deployed capacity. For IndiGo, the route accounts for 1.4 per cent of its deployed capacity. 

GoAir has deferred its plan to add six flights between Mumbai and Delhi from next month in view of restrictions.

Overall 25 of GoAir flights would be hit due to restrictions on passengers coming from Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Goa, an executive said.