Domestic air traffic in India witnessed a significant 36 per cent year-on-year increase, with 1.32 crore passengers carried by domestic airlines in May, as per DGCA data.
Meanwhile, Go First’s operation suspension led its 6.4 per cent market share being shifted to IndiGo. The latter capitalised with its market share soaring to 61.4 per cent in May from 57.5 per cent in April. This record-high market share solidifies IndiGo’s position as a dominant player in the Indian aviation sector.
Additionally, compared to April’s figure of 1.29 crore passengers, domestic air traffic in May saw a modest growth of 2.5 per cent. Notably, the overall cancellation rate for scheduled domestic flights in May 2023 was impressively low at just 0.44 per cent.
IndiGo carried the most passengers in May, serving 81.10 lakh of the total 1.32 crore domestic flyers. The three Tata airlines together transported 34.80 lakh passengers, while SpiceJet and Akasa Air carried 7.20 lakh and 6.29 lakh passengers, respectively. Overall, domestic passenger traffic in India in May rose by 15.2 per cent compared with the previous year, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Load factor
The combination of increased travel demand and Go First’s suspension led to improved passenger load factors for major Indian carriers. IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, AIX Connect, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air achieved load factors of over 90 per cent in May, with only SpiceJet, Vistara, and Go First surpassing this threshold in April.
IndiGo’s load factor rose to 91.5 per cent in May from 87.4 per cent in April, while Air India’s increased to 90.1 per cent from 87.9 per cent. Akasa Air experienced a jump in load factor to 91.1 per cent in May compared to 84.9 per ent in April. AIX Connect saw its load factor rise to 92.8 per cent in May from 89.4 per cent in April. SpiceJet’s load factor improved to 94.8 per cent in May from 92.2 per cent in April, and Vistara’s rose to 93.2 per cent from 92.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, on multiple routes including destinations like Srinagar and Leh rose due to Go First’s cancellations. The Ministry has issued an advisory asking airlines to monitor airfares.