The withdrawal of Jet Airways from the aviation market and the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft seem to have taken a heavy toll on Indian air traffic. By the latest data, growth has more or less flat-lined with just a 0.1% year-on-year increase in March to 11.59 million passengers. That is the weakest showing in almost five years and should raise red flags, considering passenger traffic grew at double-digit rates during most of these years.
March’s troubles were driven by the grounding of a large number of aircraft for a variety of reasons. Lessors took back possession of as many as 35 aircraft from Jet Airways after the airline defaulted on its dues. SpiceJet grounded 13 of its 737 Max aircraft due to safety concerns after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, less than six months after a Lion Air flight crash involving the same aircraft type. In addition, IndiGo cancelled more than 30 daily flights due to a shortage of pilots.
