NEW DELHI: India is witnessing a swift recovery in domestic air travel as the pandemic subsides. The country’s biggest airline IndiGo is now operating more domestic flights on peak travel days like weekends or holidays than it did before Covid, on the back of increased connections to smaller cities. But flight tickets could soon cost more as the combined pressure of rising jet fuel prices and falling rupee has reached a point where airlines need to pass on this hike in operating cost to passengers in terms of higher fares.
IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said, “In pre-pandemic times, we had about 1,600 daily flights of which 400 to 450 were international. Currently, we have about 1,400 daily flights of which nearly 80 are international. (These numbers vary from lean to peak travel days.) The peaks are looking good. The government has allowed 100% domestic capacity and our bookings at this time are 90-95% of pre-Covid levels.”
But the incessant rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel prices and fall in rupee could now force airlines to increase fares to avoid going bust.
