Omicron scare: Domestic flyers drop 39% in 2 weeks; IndiGo to cut 20% capacity

NEW DELHI: With demand for travel taking a severe hit due to sharp surge in Omicron cases, India’s biggest airline by passenger carriage — IndiGo — has decided to cut its capacity by 20%. Like other airlines, it has waived change fees as scores of people are altering their travel plans.
“With the reduced demand, we will also be selectively withdrawing some of our flights from service. We anticipate that around 20% of our current scheduled operations will be withdrawn from service,” IndiGo said in a statement.
At nearly 3.9 lakh, India saw its highest post-Covid daily domestic flyer number on December 26, 2021. By Saturday (Jan 8), aviation ministry data showed this figure had fallen to 2.4 lakh — a steep 39%. On an average, about 4.2 lakh people used to fly within the country in pre-Covid times when peak winter travel season used to last till mid-January.