Domestic air traffic experiences 4.8 percent rise in February, reaching total of 126.48 lakh

Domestic air traffic increased by 4.8 percent year-on-year to 126.48 lakh in February, while over 1.55 lakh passengers experienced flight delays during the same period.

In February, Air India’s market share rose to 12.8 percent from 12.2 percent, while IndiGo’s share slightly declined to 60.1 percent from 60.2 percent in January.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reported that domestic air traffic reached 126.48 lakh in February, compared to 120.69 lakh in the corresponding period last year. However, this figure was lower than the 1.31 crore reported in January.

The DGCA stated, “Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January – February 2024 were 257.78 lakh, as against 246.11 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 4.74 percent and monthly growth of 4.80 percent.”

Flight delays affected 1,55,387 passengers in February, with scheduled carriers spending Rs 222.11 lakh for facilitation. Additionally, 29,143 passengers were impacted by cancellations, resulting in airlines spending Rs 99.96 lakh for compensation and facilities. Last month, 917 passengers were affected by denied boarding, with airlines spending Rs 78.19 lakh for compensation and facilities.

A total of 791 passenger-related complaints were received by scheduled domestic airlines in February, with flight problems comprising 37.8 percent of the complaints, followed by baggage (19 percent), refund (16.3 percent), and customer service (11.1 percent).

In February, SpiceJet’s domestic market share decreased to 5.2 percent from 5.6 percent, while Vistara and Akasa Air maintained their shares at 9.9 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. AIX Connect held a market share of 6.1 percent, unchanged from the previous month, while Alliance Air’s share remained at 1 percent.

Air India’s On-Time Performance (OTP) was 56.4 percent, while SpiceJet’s OTP stood at 59.1 percent in February. Vistara’s OTP was 67.4 percent, IndiGo’s was 72.7 percent, and Akasa Air’s was 72.9 percent. AIX Connect achieved an OTP of 73.5 percent in February.

DGCA stated, “The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of February 2024 has been 0.90 percent.” Zoom had the highest cancellation rate at 7.69 percent, while Akasa Air had the lowest at 0.30 percent. Other airlines’ cancellation rates ranged from 0.58 percent to 7.41 percent.