According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), passengers ferried by domestic airlines during the said year rose to 14.41 crore as against 13.89 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year.

However, on a sequential basis, the 2019 growth rate was far lower than the 18.60 per cent increase in passenger traffic during 2018.

"In 2019, we faced headwinds on account of Jet Airways but 2020 is going to be different and the double-digit growth should be back sooner rather than later," a senior DGCA official said.

As per the DGCA data, air passenger traffic growth rate in December 2019 rose a mere 2.56 per cent to 1.30 crore from 1.26 crore for the corresponding month of the previous fiscal.