New Delhi: The shares of IndiGo’s parent company Interglobe Aviation and troubled low-cost carrier SpiceJet shot up by 3 percent in Tuesday’s intraday trade after India’s domestic air traffic crossed the historic 5 lakh mark in a single day for the first time ever.
The surge in traffic is being driven by the strong demand for air travel in the country amid the festive and wedding seasons. On November 17, airlines carried over 5.0 5 lakh passengers, while flight departures stood at 3,173.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation lauded the historic high in a post on X, stating: “On November 17, 2024, Indian aviation marked a historic milestone as 5,05,412 domestic passengers flew in a single day, surpassing the remarkable 5-lakh passenger threshold. This reflects the sector’s rapid growth and the increasing trust of Indians in air travel’s accessibility and reliability.”
The occupancy of flights operated by the main scheduled carriers on Sunday was above 90 percent. However, the airlines’ On-Time Performance (OTP) has been impacted in recent days due to various factors, including the dense smog at airports in the north, especially New Delhi. Flights have had to be delayed as visibility has been low in the morning hours.
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On Sunday, IndiGo’s OTP was 74.2 percent, followed by Alliance Air’s at 71 percent and Akasa Air’s at 67.6 percent. SpiceJet and Air India recorded poorer performances, with the OTP at 66.1 percent and 57.1 percent, respectively.
In October, aviation watchdog DGCA said Indian airlines would operate 25,007 flights every week to and from 124 airports in the winter schedule that started on October 27. The number of flights has increased by 5.37 percent compared to the winter schedule of 2023.
DGCA figures show that IndiGo’s market share further increased to 63 percent in September, while Air India climbed to 15 percent, Akasa Air was at 4.4 percent, and SpiceJet dropped to 2 percent. Domestic air passenger traffic rose 6 percent to 13 million in September. On the other hand, domestic carriers flew 1.30 crore passengers as compared to 1.22 crore passengers, up 6.38 percent year-on-year.
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–IANS
