This fiscal, private airport operators are expecting to see their traffic volume recover to the pre-pandemic level (fiscal 2020), with recovery in revenue supported by an increase in tariffs. In fiscal 2023, air traffic volume is expected to increase to the pre-Covid level of around 340 million passengers, a CRISIL report said. For the first five months (till August), the volume was around 88 per cent of the corresponding fiscal 2020 level and this is expected to pick up during the remaining months of the year. This will be courtesy factors like improving business travel sentiment, pent-up demand on the international segment, and de-bottlenecking of capacity availability on aircraft and international slots. “This fiscal, traffic volume is expected to recover to the pre-pandemic level, implying a robust growth of ~75 per cent over the fiscal 2022 level. The pick-up is expected to be led by domestic traffic as slots and routes on the international front are still opening up,” said Manish Gupta, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings.
