CIVIL AVIATION IN INDIA - KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

same period in last year – and when airlines make seats available, they tend to fill them by flexing fares.

Third, many schools and university students were travelling ahead of the start of term in September.

Finally, aggressive price promotions have greatly stimulated demand.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Airlines reported China's airlines have handled 1904 international commercial frequencies since June-2020, and 587 temporary frequencies and weekly commercial frequencies had increased 105 per cent compared to early June-2020. Since August-2020, China's daily frequencies and seats have exceeded 13,300 and 2.2 million, respectively, which is close to 80 per cent of 2019 levels. The agency had stated that China daily air seats recovered to 80 per cent of 2019 levels in August-2020.

By the end of August, daily average flights handled by China's civil aviation industry had come in at 13,000, around 90 per cent compared with the volume before the pandemic outbreak.

Meanwhile, the country's daily air passenger volume reached 1.6 million, about 80 per cent of the volume in the same period last year and its domestic routes saw the passenger volume recover to around 90 per cent compared with last year.

CAPA, Centre for Aviation had also remarked that the China domestic capacity is expected to continue trending above 2019 levels.

Flightradar24, a global flight tracking service that provides real-time information about thousands of flights, airlines, airports around the world, noted three phases as some learnings that other countries can learn from the evolution of the Chinese aviation market.

Following the sharp decline in traffic to just 20 per cent of previous levels, the first phase of the recovery in China saw a steep boost in domestic flights back to 40 per cent as essential connectivity was re-established. The recovery remained at this level as international traffic remained suppressed and ongoing travel restrictions greatly limited demand.

Then when the quarantine in Wuhan was lifted in April, the number of flights started to gradually increase as people were able to travel again. The domestic traffic recovered at a steady pace of ~10 per cent per month, with the Low Cost Carriers (LCC) recovering swiftly. By May, Spring (the largest Chinese LCC) was already flying over 100 per cent of flights on a Year-on-Year (YoY) comparison. Leading up to the Labour Day celebrations, international traffic made a small revival. Government intervention was also put in place to support international connectivity through this period. However, this revival was short-lived as Beijing saw a COVID-19 flare-up in mid-June, and a number of travel restrictions were put in place. In the third phase, beginning in July, the domestic flights began to increase again, probably due to the relaxation of the Beijing restrictions and the start of the summer school holidays. Domestic flights thereby increased by 36 per cent from July 1st to August 31st, while international flights remained at the same level.

A HSBC report released early September had pointed out that the ‘ Golden Week’ holiday in October was “likely to stimulate domestic travel demand,” noting that several airports in Mainland China had already recorded month-on-month increases in flight movements to meet travel demand at that time. And the Golden Week (a seven-day holiday period in China beginning from October 1 to October 7 marking the National Day i.e. the founding day of the People’s Republic of China) indeed brought a bright ray of recovery with it for China’s domestic airline industry.

CAAC however also mentioned that the average daily passenger figure is about nine per cent lower compared to the same period a year ago. Average daily flights mounted fell about 10 per cent compared to 2019’s Golden Week holidays, but given the unprecedented scenario this year, it is a huge growth sign that Chinese carriers mounted over 1,17,000 flights during the Golden Week, a large majority being the domestic flights. CAAC data for the period also shows that on 30 September, a day before the

China's demand for consumption expected to be "released" if the pandemic is effectively controlled.

There is strong policy support from China's Government in the form of reduced taxes and fees, including the exemption of annual civil aviation development funds.

There is strong policy support from China's Government in the form of reduced taxes and fees, including the exemption of annual civil aviation development funds which has been a major helping hand in the industry’s success. CAPA also noted that the Government support helped to 'oil the wheels' of China's recovery.

In July, China moved to allow travel agencies to operate group tours across provincial borders. China’s culture and tourism ministry also eased restrictions on tourist attractions, allowing them to operate at 50 per cent of their capacity, raising the limit from 30 per cent imposed in April.

The government's effective epidemic control measures and supportive policies also aided the country's air passenger and air cargo sectors both of which are gradually recovering.

seen two terrible tragedies in last ten years and both the accidents seem to have some similarities. In 2010 an Air India aircraft from Dubai had overshot the runway in Mangalore and slid downhill killing 158 people. On August 7, 2020 another Air India Flight IX-1344 from Dubai to Calicut overshot the runway and 18 out of 190 people onboard perished in the crash including the two pilots. While the investigation by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is still on, there were several comments like "two fellows are dead...and the landing it seems was not appropriate” made by the officials in the

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). These comments faced severe backlash from the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) and the Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) which, in a letter to civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri asked for removal of current DG Arun Kumar and replacing him with a suitable candidate with substantial knowledge of the aviation sector and sufficient operational experience.

The accident and the events after that have raised several questions regarding the aviation safety practices in India. DGCA which is the statutory body to regulate civil aviation is facing several chal