Clipped wings: Post-Covid pandemic recovery in air travel stalls

The biggest decline has been in foreign tourist arrivals

The post-Covid recovery in air travel in India has stalled, putting a question mark over the stretched finances of airlines.

According to government data, the number of passengers handled by Indian airports in September 2022 was still nearly 22 per cent lower than that in December 2019. Also, the monthly passenger movement at airports has moved in a narrow band since March this year, showing little sign of growth.

Airports in India handled around 24.94 million passengers in September this year, against the pre-pandemic high of 31.85 million passengers in December 2019 and 24.43 million in March this year. The