EXPLAINED: How Resumption of International Flights Will Impact Indian Flyers And Aviation Sector?

International Flights Latest News Today: Aviation Minister Scindia asserted that the air traffic figures will rebound and the number of domestic passengers may touch 4.10 million per day by next year and will surpass that number by 2024-25.

New Delhi: The aviation sector has been hit extremely hard due to the Coronavirus pandemic as most airlines globally have drastically curtailed their flight operations to break the chain of COVID transmission. However, with the situation in India improving vastly, the country has decided to resume international flight operations from March 27, 2022.

As per a report of The Indian Express, 4,700 international flight departures were being operated every week from airports across India before the pandemic. The number, however, declined to 2,000 weekly flights after the deadly coronavirus, affecting airfares for international routes. “The resumption of international flight operations would bring much-needed relief regarding airfares as airlines add capacity ahead of the upcoming summer vacation season”, Indian Express reported quoting experts.

Aviation Sector to Bounce Back

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also expressed optimism about the civil aviation sector bouncing back following a difficult phase due to COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that Indian airline operators are expected to add 110 to 120 new aircraft every year in the days to come.

Speaking at an event, he exuded confidence that the air traffic figures will rebound and the number of domestic passengers is expected to touch 4.10 million per day by next year and will surpass that number by 2024-25.

“India is looking at tremendous expansion. Expansion in the area of airlines, expansion in the area of airports. And therefore, fleet augmentation is also important. A country that had a fleet of only 400 aircraft in the year 2013-14 has grown to a fleet of 710 aircraft in the last seven years, an addition of almost 310 aircraft. And we intend to add at least 110 to 220 aircraft per year as we go forward,” Scindia said.

Domestic Air Traffic to Improve, India to Witness 410 Million Flying Passengers 

On airlines’ traffic figures, Scindia said domestic air traffic which was at 3.9 million passengers per day fell to 1.16 million during the third wave under the Omicron variant of COVID-19. However, the numbers bounced back to 3.83 million as of now close to the pre-COVID number of 4.1 million passengers per day. And I am very confident that within the next year, we will surpass the number of pre-COVID of 4.1 million passengers and create a new historic record in India, he said.

The number of international passengers which was close to 60 million in 2018-19 fell to almost 10 million after COVID restrictions. The minister hoped that as the restrictions are being lifted from March 27, the country will be reconnected to the rest of the world through normal flights. He hoped that by 2024-25 India will witness 410 million flying passengers.