NEW DELHI: Amid talks of disinvestment, domestic market share of the national carrier Air India has come down in the last few months marking its lowest percentage in November this year.
According to the latest data by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India’s domestic market share in November was 12.1%.
However, the data disclosed that the airline ferried more passengers this month as compared to last year. It carried 1.6 million passengers which is 14% higher as compared to the same month last year.
The total number of domestic passengers carried by all the airlines has seen a rise this month as the number went up from 123.16 lakh in October to 129.47 lakh in November.
The value of the share of private carriers increased from 87.4% to 87.9%. On the other side, Air India registered a decline from 12.6% to 12.1% in the last two months.
Overall, passengers carried by Air India from January to November 2019 was 1,311.54 lakh as against 1,262.83 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering annual growth of 3.86% and monthly growth of 11.18%, the latest DGCA data said.
The government in the recent past has reiterated that the airline will be sold completely
Only few days ago, Air India’s CMD Ashwini Lohani had asked the government to financially support the airline till it finds a suitable buyer.
However, the government is apparently in reluctant in providing any more financial support to the ailing airline.
Officials said that the massive debt of over `58,000 crore is the main reason behind the net losses of the company that it has been incurring over the years.
Officials are worried that the airline doesn’t have enough money left in its coffers to pay its employees for much longer.