Domestic airlines flew 82.30 lakh passengers in September this year, registering a growth of 23.46 per cent, over the 66.66 lakh passengers carried during the same period in the previous year.

The passenger traffic data, released on Wednesday by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, showed that in September the passenger load factor “remained almost constant” compared to August, due to the end of the tourist season.

Delhi-based low-cost airline IndiGo, which carried 32.96 lakh passengers, continued to hold the top spot in terms of numbers of passengers flown, followed by Jet Airways (13.32 lakh) and Air India (12.06 lakh).

SpiceJet, another Delhi-based low-cost airline, flew 10.30 lakh passengers, while GoAir flew 6.87 lakh, Vistara 2.03 lakh and AirAsia 1.88 lakh passengers. SpiceJet reported a Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 93.5 per cent, the highest in the industry reported during Septemberfollowed by GoAir (89.4 per cent) and AirAsia (82.8 per cent). The passenger load factor shows how much of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity is used.

IndiGo recorded a PLF of 82.1 per cent, Jet Airways 79.9 per cent and Air India reported a 79 per cent load factor.

The industry collectively paid over ₹1.1 crore to over 63,000 passengers affected by cancellations or delays in flights, including over ₹48 lakh which the industry spent to take care of over 44,800 passengers affected by flight delays.

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