Second wave eBay: Government allows 15% more domestic flights – Times of India

New Delhi: Indian carriers can now operate 15% more domestic flight The government increased the cap on the same to 65% from 50% of the pre-Covid level from Monday.
During the pandemic, the aviation ministry has been controlling both domestic fares and capacity. It has changed both according to the situation of Kovid.
Now that the second wave is easing and daily cases have declined, domestic capacity – which was reduced from 80% pre-Covid on June 1 to 50% – has been ramped up.
The number of daily domestic commuters has seen a steady rise in the last few days after declining in April and May.
For example, July 3 saw approximately 1.6 million domestic travelers – the figure dropped to less than 50,000 in several days during the peak second wave in May.
The order issued by SK Mishra, joint secretary of the ministry, said that 65% of the capacity is operational by the end of this month.
The aviation ministry had last week sought views of airport operators and airlines on capacity enhancement. Barring one or two airlines in a financially dire situation, most stakeholders had sought permission to operate more domestic flights.
In a tweet, the ministry said: “In view of the increasing demand for domestic air travel, the capacity of domestic civil aviation operations will be increased from 50% to 65% with effect from (Monday) July 31, 2021 or till further orders.”

A senior airline official said: “The pandemic started early in the year and there is no sign of it going completely in a hurry. It is the best state, which promises minimum government and maximum governance, left to the forces of the aviation market. Airlines should be free to deploy capacity as per demand based on the pandemic situation. Fuel prices are on fire and the fare cap also needs to go now if airlines are to survive. ”
The entire travel industry, including airlines and hotels, feels that their survival rests on domestic travelers as international travel can take a long time to open up either way – with most countries allowing Indian tourists and foreign tourists. is being allowed in India. Government agencies also accept this fact.
For example, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority’s consultation paper on Hyderabad Airport (HIAL) tariff states: “The Authority has observed the traffic trends in HIAL and observed that the traffic at Hyderabad Airport is in the domestic segment (about 81 of the total). %).The traffic in the last five years was of domestic passengers.The Authority is of the opinion that the post-pandemic recovery of traffic at Hyderabad Airport will be led by the domestic segment and will be faster than other major airports. which have a high share of international traffic.
While norms for international travel will be set by different countries for visitors from different countries depending on the pandemic situation at different places, the travel industry is demanding similar norms for domestic travel.
Industry leaders say that the need for RT-PCR testing for domestic travel should be done away with to ensure uniform, complete immunization across the country.
“As of now, there are different rules for traveling from one Indian state to another. This creates confusion among travelers and many people decide to postpone non-essential travel. There should be one rule for domestic travel – RT-PCR test is not required if fully immunized. This one move will have a manifold impact on travel,” said a hotelier.