Domestic Air Traffic Witnesses 4.8% Increase in February, Over 1.55 Lakh Passengers Impacted by Flight Delays

Domestic air traffic in February increased by 4.8 percent annually to reach 126.48 lakh passengers. Concurrently, over 1.55 lakh passengers experienced flight delays during the same period. During February, Air India saw an increase in its market share, rising to 12.8 percent from 12.2 percent previously. Conversely, IndiGo experienced a slight decline, with its market share dropping marginally to 60.1 percent from 60.2 percent recorded in January.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reported that domestic air traffic surged to 126.48 lakh in February, up from 120.69 lakh in the same period last year. However, this figure was lower than the 1.31 crore reported in January.

DGCA further stated that the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines between January and February 2024 totaled 257.78 lakh, compared to 246.11 lakh during the same period in the previous year, marking an annual growth of 4.74 percent and a monthly growth of 4.80 percent.

In February, flight delays affected 1,55,387 passengers, leading scheduled carriers to expend Rs 222.11 lakh for facilitation, as per DGCA. Additionally, 29,143 passengers faced cancellations, prompting airlines to allocate Rs 99.96 lakh for compensation and amenities.

During the same month, denied boarding affected 917 passengers, with airlines disbursing Rs 78.19 lakh for compensation and facilities. Furthermore, scheduled domestic airlines received 791 passenger-related complaints in February, resulting in approximately 0.63 complaints per 10,000 passengers carried.

The data showed that 37.8 per cent of the passenger complaints were about flight problems, followed by baggage (19 per cent), refund (16.3 per cent) and customer service (11.1 per cent), as per the data. Last month, the domestic market share of SpiceJet dropped to 5.2 per cent from 5.6 per cent, Vistara and Akasa Air managed to maintain their share at 9.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.