Air travel firms report brisk business as skies open up

A record number of flight tickets were sold in a matter of hours after the government announced resumption of domestic flights from Monday, three travel agents said on Friday.

Online travel firm EaseMyTrip sold air tickets worth more than ₹10 crore since Thursday after the government announcement, co-founder and chief executive Nishant Pitti said.

The government allowed domestic carriers to resume passenger flights from Monday, including at the coronavirus hotspots of Delhi and Mumbai that host the country’s busiest airports. However, airlines can only use a third of their capacity of the approved summer schedule.

The government also imposed an upper and lower limit on fares to ensure customers do not have to pay exorbitant sums, while the restricted resumption of flights does not become financially not viable for carriers.