The Union ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) on Tuesday allowed domestic flights to fly with 100% capacity from October 18 onwards, coinciding with what is usually the beginning of the peak season for the aviation business in the country.
The ministry reduced the permissible capacity to 50% with effect from June 1 due to the second wave of the pandemic. It increased it to 72.5% with effect from August 12, and further to 85.% with effect from September 18. The passenger traffic has increased from around 3.1 million in June to 6.9 million in September. Most airlines say their busier routes are seeing an average occupancy of 70.2%.
According to DGCA data, average load factor of six major airlines in August was 70.2%. IndiGo said its current load factor is 75% to 80% and average daily flights is around 1,200.
