Domestic Air Passenger Traffic In April Jumps 22 Per Cent On year: DGCA

Domestic air traffic dipped slightly in April when compared with March 2023's reading which stood at 128.93 lakh passengers

Domestic air traffic in April jumped 22 per cent when compared to the same month last year, according to the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday revealed. The air traffic number climbed to 128.88 lakh passengers, DGCA said. However, domestic air traffic dipped slightly in April when compared with March 2023's reading which stood at 128.93 lakh passengers.

According to news reports, air traffic also surpassed pre-Covid levels. In April 2019, domestic airlines flew only 109.95 lakh passengers.

The market share of IndiGo, India's largest airline, grew 70 basis points in April, after rising nearly 90 basis points in March and 130 basis points in February. The airline's market share is now 57.5 per cent, with the low-cost carrier flying 74.06 lakh passengers in April. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Vistara remained the second-largest domestic carrier in April and bagged a market share of 8.7 per cent, flying 11.23 lakh passengers during the period.

Market share of Tata Group-owned Air India fell 20 basis points to 8.6 per cent in April, the airline flew 11.13 lakh passengers in April. The airline has seen its market share fall from 9.2 per cent in January to 8.6 per cent in April, falling 20-30 basis points every month.

AirAsia India, which, too, is part of the Tata stable, rose up to number four in terms of market share. Its market share remain stable at 7.6 per cent in April, as the carrier served 9.81 lakh passengers.

SpiceJet fell to the number six spot in terms of market share, which was even lower than Go First, accounting for 5.8 per cent of the domestic market, 60 basis points fall since March. The airline flew 7.41 lakh passengers in April.

The market share of Go First, formerly GoAir, fell 50 basis points to 6.4 per cent in April. Facing financial crunch, Go First stopped flying since May 3. The passenger load factor, or the occupancy rate, of SpiceJet, Vistara, IndiGo, Air India and AirAsia India stood at 92.2 per cent, 92.1 per cent, 87.4 per cent, 87.9 per cent, and 89.4 per cent, respectively, in April.

GoFirst had reported a passenger load factor of 91.2 per cent in April.

Akasa Air, India's newest carrier, saw a rise in its passenger load factor to 84.9 per cent in April, its ninth month of operations, from 73.6 per cent in March. The airline carried 5.13 lakh passengers in April, a market share of 4 per cent.