New Delhi: Domestic passenger traffic is estimated to rise by 54 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in February but decline by 5 per cent sequentially, as per rating agency ICRA.

Daily departures averaged 2,967, up from 2,044 in February 2022 and 2,900 in January 2023, but down from 3,137 in February 2020. The average number of passengers per flight was 143, higher than the 139 passengers per flight in February 2022. “The domestic aviation industry continues to witness recovery, with domestic passenger traffic for February 2023 estimated at 119 lakh, 54 per cent higher than the domestic passenger traffic of 77 lakh in February 2022 and lower by only 4 per cent, compared to pre-Covid levels, i.e. 123 lakh in February 2020,” said Suprio Banerjee, Vice President & Sector Head — Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited. He added that on a sequential basis, it was lower by 5 per cent compared to 125 lakh in January 2023.

For 11M FY2023 (April-February 2023), domestic passenger traffic is estimated at 1,229 lakh, a YoY growth of 65 per cent compared to 745 lakh in 11M FY2022 (April-February 2022), and lower by only 8 per cent compared to 1,338 lakh in April-February 2020. “The airlines’ capacity deployment in February 2023 was higher by 45 per cent than February 2022. It was lower by 9 per cent than the pre-Covid levels. It is estimated that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor (PLF) of 90 per cent in February 2023.

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