Domestic air passenger traffic hits single-day record of 5.05 lakh on Nov 17

Indian airlines will operate 25,007 flights every week to and from 124 airports in the winter schedule that started from October 27.

Marking a new record, domestic air passenger traffic crossed the 5 lakh-mark for the first time in a single day on Noveber 17, reflecting strong travel demand amid festive and wedding seasons.

In a post on X on Monday evening, the civil aviation ministry said that on November 17, Indian skies witnessed a historic milestone with 5,05,412 domestic passengers departing on a single day, crossing the 5 lakh-mark for the first time.

Airlines carried 5,05,412 passengers on Sunday (November 17) and the number of flight departures was at 3,173, according to the latest data from the ministry.

"Domestic travel has witnessed strong demand during the festive season. Daily flown pax crossed 5 lakh on 17th Nov. The high pax movement is largely backed by robust festive demand and the start of the wedding season. We expect strong demand to continue in the winter season," Gaurav Patwari, Vice President – Air Category – at travel portal Cleartrip, said.

The occupancy of flights operated by the main scheduled carriers on Sunday were above 90 percent.

However, On-Time Performance (OTP) of the airlines have been impacted in recent days due to various factors.

On Sunday, the OTP of IndiGo was at 74.2 percent, followed by Alliance Air at 71 percent and Akasa Air at 67.6 percent. Among other airlines, SpiceJet and Air India's OTP stood at 66.1 percent and 57.1 percent, respectively.

In October, aviation watchdog DGCA said Indian airlines will operate 25,007 flights every week to and from 124 airports in the winter schedule that started from October 27.

The number of flights is three percent higher than 24,275 departures per week from 125 airports in the current summer schedule.

In comparison to the winter schedule 2023, the number of flights has increased by 5.37 percent.

The winter schedule is from October 27, 2024 till March 29, 2025.