Air traveller numbers treble from May low as states get into unlock mode

With more states lifting lockdowns this month, the average number of passengers travelling per day has tripled from a low of 42,000 in May to 125,000, from the third week of June onwards.

The figures, based on feedback from leading airlines as well as airport companies who expect the trend to continue for the rest of this month, raise hopes that the recovery after the second wave could be faster than the recovery after last year’s national lockdown when it took three months for passenger numbers to double from May when flights restarted.

“The recovery has been far faster …we have gone up three-fold in less than a month from the lowest figure in May,” said an executive with a leading airport company.

But the grim reality is that the average daily passengers for June from the second week is still around 40 per cent of the levels reached in March when it rose to 313,000 passengers a day. At that time, the aviation industry hoped to be moving closer to normalisation and just needed international travel to open up.

And of course, the June figure is far lower, only 30 per cent, of the pre-covid number of 414,000 passengers per day.

Leading the growth is New Delhi. Passengers from the third week of June hit 60,000 per day and this is expected to continue till the end of the month, according to projections, marking a good increase from a low of 18,000 a day in May.  

The numbers have also doubled from the first week of June (30,000) to reach 63,000 a day on June 20 with as many as 620 flights.

The country’s largest airport, Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi, is expected to handle an average of 450 domestic flights (470 on weekends) and 55 international flights (70 on weekends) for the next few days of this month.  

The number of passengers per flight will range from 115 on weekdays to 130 on weekends – very moderate passenger load factors.

In Mumbai too the numbers are slowly looking up with average daily passengers numbering  21,000 in June. This reflects a growth of 50 per cent over May.

Airlines are divided as to what the future holds. A source in the know of IndiGo’s plans said it was impossible to predict growth numbers due to uncertainties such as when the third wave will erupt and how bad it will be.

Others say there seems to be a three-month window before the next wave can arrive and are hopeful that the numbers will soar to 200,000 by July-end if the current levels (which are half of pre-pandemic levels), continue.