New Delhi
Domestic air passenger traffic reached 132.3 lakh in September, showing a 0.8% increase from 131.3 lakh in August. The report showed an 8.1% year-on-year rise, with 122.5 lakh passengers recorded in September last year.
In the first half of FY25, domestic air passenger traffic totaled 795.5 lakh, marking a 5.6% growth compared to the same period last year. This figure is also 12.9% higher than the pre-COVID level of 704.4 lakh in the first half of FY2020.
International passenger traffic for Indian carriers in the first five months of FY25 stood at 135.9 lakh, a 15.7% year-on-year increase. This figure was 48.7% higher than the pre-COVID level of 92.2 lakh.
The international passenger traffic for Indian carriers is expected to grow by 15-20% in FY25. Growth in the domestic aviation sector is expected to be moderate, supported by stable costs and pricing power. Revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) and cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) spread have shown improvement.
However, the growth in air passenger traffic is expected to slow down to 7-10% in FY25, compared to 13% in FY24. This is attributed to the higher base of FY24 and lower traffic in Q1 FY25 due to weather disruptions. In September, airlines operated at a load factor of 86.2%, up from 85.6% in September 2023. Capacity deployment increased by 7.3% year-on-year.
