India’s domestic passenger air traffic was lower by 49.6% in Nov: IATA

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 8

The global airlines body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), in its latest report has said that the domestic passenger traffic growth in India was 49.6 per cent lower in November last year as compared to the corresponding month in 2019.

“In India, domestic Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) contracted by 49.6 per cent year-on-year in November vs. 55.6 per cent fall in October. A further improvement is expected in the near-term as more schools and businesses reopen,” IATA said in the report.

The IATA, which represents around 290 airlines comprising 82 per cent of global air traffic, measures passenger growth in RPKs terms, which is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers to the distance travelled by them.

Scheduled domestic passenger flights resumed in India on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to the COVID-19 – induced lockdown. Currently, Indian carriers are permitted to operate at 80 percent of their pre-COVID domestic flights capacity