This next is India’s century, India is going places and as you read this is one, you will fathom that it is Indians who are going places.
Unseen Uptick in the Indian Domestic Air Travel Space
The golden bird, India, has witnessed an unparalleled uptick in the domestic air travel peaking at 13.8 million passengers in the month of December 2023. Previous high of the same was 13.21 million domestic passengers in the month of May 2023.
Marking a robust post-pandemic recovery, the December 2023 domestic air traffic numbers have exceeded the pre pandemic levels. From December 2022, there is an increase of 8.4% in the passenger count. The rise is 6.1% compared to December 2019. The record-breaking month of December 2023 saw 91,044 flights, 3% more than December 2022, and slightly less than December 2019’s 94,910 flights.
Speaking in terms of air traffic, December holidays outpace longer summer holidays due to a shorter holiday window.
As compared to the air traffic per day in the month of November, the number in December was 4.45 lakh passengers per day which is substantially high.
What is remarkable is that despite the adverse weather conditions which caused disruptions and cancellations, the trend in air traffic soared.
Economic Shifts, Political Impact, and Future Challenges
This growth story in turn can be attributed to the changing economic conditions as well as the strategic fare offerings by airlines. Showcasing a 6% increase over 2019 and a 23% growth from 2022, Indian domestic traffic rebounded to and exceeded pre-COVID levels in 2023.
When we speak of this year, which is also the election year in India, as per the projected economic growth a potential 15% increase in domestic traffic to 17.5 million is anticipated, contingent on airline support and plane inductions, especially from the Tata group.
The sector is rebounding from the setback of Go FIRST’s decline in May. There are many challenges despite this historic feat in the industry as IndiGo could potentially ground 40 additional aircrafts. Then there is the latest COVID variant on travel.
