New Delhi. June 25
India’s domestic air passenger traffic registered a 1.89 per cent increase during May this year to 1.4 crore, compared to the corresponding figure of 1.38 crore in the same month last year, according to the latest data compiled by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Operations at over 30 airports near the border regions were impacted for around a week's time in May, due to the India-Pakistan conflict that followed the massacre of 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam by Pakistan-based terrorists.
The disruption in flight services also affected the passenger load factor (PLF) of all airlines, which reflects the number of occupied seats on a flight. IndiGo's PLF fell to 85.1 per cent from 86.9 per cent in the same month of the previous year, SpiceJet’s PLF declined to 84 per cent from 86 per cent, and Air India's PLF dipped to 80.2 per cent from 83.3 per cent. Akasa Air's recorded the highest PLF for the month at 91.4 per cent.
IndiGo, the leading country’s leading airline, increased its market share to 64.6 per cent in May from 64.1 per cent as the low-cost airline carried 90.8 lakh passengers during the month.