Domestic air passenger traffic in India to clock 6.1 per cent growth at 144.9 lakh in November

The domestic air passenger traffic in India is expected to clock 6.1 per cent growth at 144.9 lakh in the month of November, compared to 136.6 lakh in October, a report showed on Tuesday.

Further, November witnessed a year-on-year growth of 13.8 per cent in comparison to 127.4 lakh in November 2023 and higher by 11.9 per cent than pre-Covid levels of 129.5 lakh in November 2019, according to estimates by credit rating agency ICRA.

For the eight months this fiscal (April-November), domestic air passenger traffic was 1074.9 lakh, with a YoY growth of 6.7 per cent and 12.3 per cent higher than the pre-Covid level of 957 lakh in the first eight months in FY2020.

Moreover, in the first seven months this fiscal (FY25), the international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 190.3 lakh with a YoY growth of 15.9 per cent, and higher than the pre-Covid level of 131 lakh by 45.4 per cent, the report mentioned.

The airlines' capacity deployment in November 2024 was higher than November 2023 by 8.6 per cent, according to the report.

It is estimated that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor (PLF) of 90.4 per cent in November 2024 against 86.3 per cent in November 2023 and 89.5 per cent in November 2019 (pre-Covid).

From April till July this year, the ATF prices were higher by 3.1 per cent, 6.4 per cent, 6.7 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively, on a YoY basis.

From August to December, the prices were lower on a YoY basis by 2.2 per cent, 17.8 per cent, 26.5 per cent, 19.6 per cent and 14.5 per cent, respectively, said the report.