Airlines still operating less than a third of flight services compared to July 2019: ICRA

Despite an increase in the number of flights being operated, domestic airlines are operating less than a third of normal flights, said rating agency ICRA. The agency said airlines operated at a much lower capacity of around 27 percent in July 2020 compared to July 2019 level.

However, there was a marginal increase of over the 25 percent capacity achieved in June 2020, Business Standard has reported.

Domestic flight operations resumed in a staggered manner on May 25 after a two-month suspension owing to the coronavirus lockdown.

"The number of flights departing has also gradually increased from 416 on day 1 to 890 on day 69 (July 31). For July, the average daily departures were 780, significantly lower than average daily departures of 2,845 in July 2019. The number stood at 723 in June. The average number of passengers per flight during July was 86 as against an average of 134 passengers per flight in July 2019," said Kinjal Shah, Vice President, ICRA.

Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic

The agency states that H2FY21 will witness some recovery, with Q4FY21 witnessing YoY de-growth of just 3-14 percent in domestic passenger traffic with improved load factors.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet has withdrawn its promotional ticket offer, as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) flagged it as violating the Centre’s competitive pricing terms.

SpiceJet on August 3 launched a 1+1 offer to boost ticket sales amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under this scheme, the airline was offering discounts on one-way base fares for travel on the airline's domestic network. Additionally, SpiceJet was also offering a free flight voucher worth the base fare of the booked flight.

As per the Centre’s rules for domestic flight operations amid the pandemic, ticket fares are regulated to avoid unsustainable pricing by already financially stressed carriers.

Click here for Moneycontrol's full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic