Air traffic continued its upward trend in May on the back of peak season and robust growth in the economy. Domestic scheduled airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways and IndiGo carried 48.56 lakh passengers during the month, up 22% over the corresponding month of the previous year, according to the data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The airlines witnessed higher flight occupancy during the month as demand peaked due to the holiday season. Barring Air India all other carriers led by IndiGo registered more than 80% seat factor, the number of passengers available per seat per km.
?Analysis of capacity and demand data on year-on-year basis indicates increase in capacity and demand in the month of May,? an official statement said.
The air traffic is directly linked with the growth in the economy. Most of the barometers showing the direction of the economy have recently shown positive trend. Industrial production in the country in April surpassed all predictions registering 17.6% growth.
?The direction of economy is very strong. We are in the middle of moving into a strong and sustainable growth phase,? an industry analyst said.
Most of the carriers, especially low-cost airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet are planning to expand their fleet size as the last few months have seen capacity tightening on increased demand.
A Delhi-based aviation expert said the air traffic growth in May was impacted by Mangalore air crash followed by agitation by about 15,000 Air India employees. An Air India Express flight from Dubai had crashed near the coastal city of Mangalore last month killing 158 passengers out of 166 onboard.