Domestic aviation continues to face turbulent times in calendar year 2021, especially due to the impact of the second wave of Covid infections, says Suprio Banerjee, Vice-President and Sector Head, ICRA Limited. The sector is expected to report a net loss of ₹25,000-26,000 crore in FY22; recovery is expected only in FY24.
While the year started with sequential growth in domestic passenger traffic in January 2021, the trend reversed in March 2021 with the onset of the second wave. Declining new cases brought sequential growth again in June 2021, which continued till November 2021.
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According to Banerjee, the growth has been way below pre-Covid levels, both on monthly and cumulative basis.
“The other challenge the industry has been facing in CY2021 is rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, which, as of December 2021, has gone up 67 per cent on a year-on-year basis,” he said, pointing out that scheduled international operations are yet to start and domestic sector recovery is “still a work-in-progress”.
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