Domestic air passenger traffic grew 1.7% MoM in April: DGCA

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Domestic air passenger traffic in April increased by 1.7 percent on a month-on-month basis to 108.80 lakh, data released by aviation regulator DGCA on May 20 showed.

However, the rise in the number of domestic air passengers for April was 90 percent higher when compared with April 2021.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, passenger load factors of all major airlines -- Air India, SpiceJet, GoFirst, IndiGo, AirAsia India, and Vistara -- fell in April as compared to March.

Indigo witnessed a decline as its passenger load factor (PLF) came down to 78.7 percent in April, as compared to 81 percent in March and 85.2 percent in February.

SpiceJet's PLF dropped to 85.9 percent in April from 86.1 percent in March and 89.1 percent in February while Air India's PLF fell to 79.5 percent in April from 85 percent in March and 84.1 percent in February. GoFirst's PLF also fell to 80.3 percent in April from 81.4 in March.

Passenger load factor measures the seat capacity utilisation of the airline.

Indigo continued to maintain its leadership position, with a market share of 58.9 percent during the month of April. The numbers marked a rise as compared to March and February when the airline's market share stood at 54.8 percent and 51.3 percent, respectively.

Air India's market share slipped to 7.6 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March and 11.1 percent in February.

SpiceJet's market share dropped 30 basis points in April from March to 9.2 percent. The airline had a market share of 10.7 percent in February.

The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for April came in at 0.12 percent, the DGCA said.

During the same period, a total of 360 passenger-related complaints had been received by the domestic airlines, the aviation body said, pointing out that the maximum number of complaints was registered by Air India.

Last week, market research firm ICRA said the recovery of India's aviation industry may take a hit due to rising prices of Aviation turbine fuel.

"ATF prices have surged by 89 percent on a Y-o-Y basis in May 2022 given the elevated crude oil prices due to geopolitical issues arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine," ICRA said, adding that the rise in ATF prices will continue to weigh on the earnings of Indian carriers in 2022-23.