Indian airlines face same headwinds as global peers

NEW DELHI : Cash-strapped airlines in India are worried about a likely fall in demand as more Covid-19 infections emerge in the country, potentially dampening appetite for air travel.

Considering that many cases were detected only in March, a decline in traffic in the coming months remains a possibility if the epidemic is not contained soon.

“Aviation is one of the sectors most hit by the likely demand slowdown based on the ramifications of nCoV (Covid-19),” said a 5 March ICICI Securities report on listed Indian airlines. “However, lower crude prices and possible adjusting of frequencies to maintain PLFs (passenger load factor) are two available offsets,” it added.