NEW DELHI: Domestic air traffic surged to an all-time high of 456,082 passengers in a single day on Sunday (April 30), said Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday.
“Indian civil aviation sector is setting new records every day post the covid-19 pandemic. The skyrocketing domestic air passenger numbers are a sign of India’s rising growth and prosperity,” said Scindia on Twitter.
A total of 456,082 passengers flew on 2,978 flights on Sunday, as per the civil aviation ministry. Prior to Covid, the average daily domestic passenger number was 398,579.
The country’s domestic air traffic has seen a sharp recovery in the past few months even as airfares have shot up and airlines are facing difficulty in expanding their fleet due to slower delivery by aircraft manufacturers.
According to the data from the aviation regulator DGCA, domestic carriers flew nearly 1.29 crore passengers in March 2023, an increase of 21.4% compared to the year-ago period.
The passenger traffic in March 2023 was the highest after the Covid-19 era and was just a few thousand away from the highest-ever monthly traffic ever recorded.
For the entire January to March quarter (Q4FY23), domestic airlines clocked a 51% rise in domestic passenger traffic to 3.75 crore.
Rating agency Crisil estimates that domestic air passenger traffic is expected to remain robust and clock double-digit growth of 17% in FY24.