Domestic air travel bookings pick up pace

NEW DELHI: Air travel bookings in India have gathered pace amid the festive season, offering hopes of a full revival for the sector battered by the pandemic.

Airlines, however, remain cautious of a potential third wave of Covid-19, mindful of the severe dent to business during May and June this year when the second wave erased gains made in the months before.

Domestic passenger traffic improved to about 4.52 million in the first three weeks of August, up from 3.31 million, 1.91 million and 1.41 million passengers in the same period during July, June and May, respectively, according to data collated by aviation website NetworkThoughts.

Air traffic in the same period during February, March and April stood at 5.73 million, 5.30 million and 4.40 million passengers, respectively.

“Going by the current figures, we are hoping for air ticket sales to pick up further during the festive season. If the current growth continues unhindered, we could see a recovery to pre-covid levels by October-december period,” the official said.

Meanwhile, airlines are shoring up their liquidity to prepare for any business disruption from a potential third wave.

Two of the country’s listed airlines—interglobe Aviation Ltd operated Indigo and Spicejet Ltd—have both received approval from their respective boards to raise capital through qualified institutional placements.

Indigo and Spicejet plan to raise up to ₹3,000 crore and up to ₹2,500 crore, respectively.

The government currently allows domestic airlines to sell seats up to 72.5% of their precovid capacity, and has also increased the minimum and maximum limits on fares.

Passenger traffic is expected to sustain its growth momentum in the coming months. This would hinge upon the country averting a third wave of the pandemic, leading the government to further ease the cap on seat capacity. India’s domestic air passenger traffic is expected to jump 52% this financial year.