11 million people took flights from April to June amid Covid second wave: Centre

Domestic passenger traffic dropped from over 23 million (53%) in January to March 2021 period to 11 million in the April to June period.

Nearly 11 million people availed of flight services between April and June this year amid the second wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Union minister of state for civil aviation VK Singh informed the Parliament on Wednesday. The number is 53 per cent less than the January to March period when India was reporting comparatively lesser number of new cases daily.

As many as 5,637 domestic flights were cancelled during the March to June period this year, VK Singh stated in his written reply.

“The domestic passenger traffic has decreased from over 23 million in January to March 2021 to around 11 million in the April to June period – a decline of 53%. This has had an adverse impact on the financial position of the airline industry,” the minister added in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He further informed the House that as many as 5,637 domestic flights were cancelled during the March to June period this year. At the moment, owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and various restrictions imposed by state governments across the country, full-scale domestic flight operations are yet to resume.

According to the rules laid down by the Union ministry of civil aviation, Indian carriers cannot operate more than 65% of their pre-Covid domestic flights.

Meanwhile, various domestic airlines saw a reduction of more than 7,900 employees between March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021 due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, Singh said in his reply. On March 31, 2020, around 74,800 employees were associated with the airlines and the number diminished to nearly 66,900 as on March 31, 2021.

Last month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data revealed that domestic passenger traffic witnessed over 63% drop in May this year as opposed to April due to the second wave of the virus outbreak. As many as 5.7 million domestic passengers travelled via flights in April, whereas the number dropped to around 2.1 million in May.

Domestic flights were suspended last year in March soon after the nationwide lockdown was imposed at the start of the coronavirus crisis. It was resumed only with limited operational capacity on May 25, 2020 following a gap of two months.