INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rating company ICRA has said domestic traveler air traffic remained low in April-December 2021Mumbai: Domestic air passenger traffic stayed
44 per cent lower in April-December 2021 at 111 lakh against the corresponding duration of 2019-20, according to ranking company ICRA.The
overall domestic guest traffic was 73 lakh in December 2020, according to a report by the ranking agency.It also stated that the
introduction of new Coronavirus variation and reactionary restrictions impacting air travel stay near term-challenges for the airline
industry.On a consecutive basis, the growth in December was taped at 5-6 percent over November 2021 during which Indian carriers had flown
105 lakh guests, ICRA stated in a declaration on Monday.Besides, the typical daily departures stood at around 2,800, notably higher compared
with around 2,065 in December 2020 and around 2,700 in November 2021, it said.At the exact same time, the typical number of travelers per
flight during December 2021 was largely flat at 129 as compared to 130 in November, ICRA said.Moreover, with the development of the new
coronavirus version and the recent trend of rising infections, few states have actually currently started revealing particular curbs on
domestic air travel, positioning a serious hazard to domestic passenger traffic recovery in the near term, it kept in mind further.Domestic
air passenger traffic grew around 5-6 per cent to around 111 lakh in December 2021, compared to around 105 lakh in November 2021, ICRA
said.It included that the exact same shows a year-on-year growth of around 52 percent, in which traveler traffic stood at around 73 lakh in
December 2020, the report said.ICRA also kept in mind that a person significant concern that continues to be a drag on the aviation sector
is the air travel turbine fuel (ATF) costs, which have seen a sharp boost of 49 per cent on a year-on-year basis till January 2022,
primarily on account of an increase in petroleum prices.This, coupled with reasonably low capacity utilisation of airplane fleet, will
continue to weigh on the financial performance of Indian carriers in 2021-22, the firm stated.
