Passenger traffic in Jan-May rises by 22.69% over last year

Domestic air passenger traffic in January-May 2018 grew 22.69% over the year-ago period, with stronger regional connectivity and the onset of the tourist season, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Passengers flown by domestic airlines in the first five months of 2018 stood at 57.16 million over 46.59 million in the corresponding period of 2017.

The passenger load factor (PLF)—an indicator of how many seats on a flight are occupied by paying passengers—has also grown. Month-on-month, it rose by 16.53% to 11.86 million in May from 10.17 million in April.

The DGCA attributes the increase in PLF for May to the beginning of the tourist season.

Experts suggest the growing PLF was because of the promotional schemes doled out by the airlines, which have made air travel accessible to the rising middle class. It should be noted that the government is also strengthening regional connectivity and will continue to allot routes to carriers under the UDAN scheme.

According to the DGCA data, SpiceJet continues to have the highest PLF with 94.5%, followed by market leader, IndiGo, with 91%. Vistara came in third with 85.7%, the numbers for Air India and Jet Airways stood at 81.3% and 80.4%, respectively.