Icra says domestic air passenger traffic projected at 11.9 m in Feb

Domestic air passenger traffic is projected to have touched around 1.19 crore in February, only about 4 per cent lower compared to pre-Covid levels, rating agency Icra said on Monday.

Icra has also revised the outlook for the domestic aviation industry to stable from negative, citing a fast-paced recovery in domestic passenger traffic in FY 2023 and the expected continuation of the same in FY 2024.

"For February 2023, domestic air passenger traffic has been estimated at around 119 lakh, around 5 per cent lower than around 125 lakh in January 2023.

"However, it witnessed a YoY (Year-on-Year) growth of around 54 per cent, as February 2022 was marginally impacted by the Omicron variant of Covid 19. Domestic passenger traffic in February 2023 was lower by only around 4 per cent compared to the pre-Covid levels (i.e. February 2020)," it said in a report.

For the first 11 months of the current fiscal, Icra said domestic passenger traffic is projected at around 12.29 crore, a y-o-y growth of about 65 per cent and lower by around 8 per cent compared to April-February 2020 -- pre-Covid levels.

According to the report, the domestic aviation industry has witnessed improved pricing power, as reflected in improved yields. The industry will regain some pricing discipline, coupled with the marginal decline in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices and relatively stable foreign exchange rates, it added.

-B