Airlines allowed to operate at 80% of pre-covid capacity

Airlines in India will be able to sell seats up to 80% of their pre-covid capacity on domestic flights, up from the existing 70%, in a further relaxation of restrictions in the sector hammered by the covid-19 pandemic.

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted about the change on Thursday, offering some relief to airlines looking to fly more passengers during the Christmas-New Year period. “Domestic operations recommenced with 30K (30,000) passengers on 25 May & have now touched a high of 2.52 lakhs on 30 Nov 2020,” Puri said in a social media post.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had on Thursday evening issued a circular to increase the cap on domestic flight capacity from 70% to 80% of pre-covid levels. A copy of the DGCA circular has been reviewed by Mint.