Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Domestic air passenger traffic grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to an estimated 138.9 million in May and was significantly higher by around 14 per cent than pre-Covid levels, credit ratings agency Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) said.
ICRA also said the outlook on the Indian aviation industry is stable amid the continued recovery in domestic and international air passenger traffic with a relatively stable cost environment and expectations of the trend continuing in FY2025.
The airlines’ capacity deployment in the previous month increased 6 per cent year-on-year and about 2 per cent higher than April 2024, it added.
According to the agency, the domestic air passenger traffic for FY24 was around 154 million, with a year-on-year growth of around 13 per cent.
It thus surpassed the pre-COVID levels of around 142 million in FY2020, the ratings agency said, adding that the international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at around 29.68 million last fiscal, registering a year-on-year growth of around 24 per cent.
Moreover, the industry witnessed improved pricing power, reflected in the higher yields (over pre-Covid levels), it said.
The momentum in air passenger traffic witnessed in FY2024 is expected to continue into FY2025. However, further expansion in yields from the current levels may be limited, it added.
Average ATF price stood at Rs 103,499/KL in FY2024, 14 per cent lower than Rs 121,013/KL in FY2023 but significantly higher by 58 per cent than the pre-Covid levels of Rs 65,368/KL in FY2020, according to ICRA.
