Fierce competition among airline firms has long limited price increases despite crippling operating costs
All Indian carriers flew 60.22 lakh (6.02 million) passengers in May compared to 57.10 lakh (5.71 million) in April, while the January-May figure stood at 267.22 lakh (Rs 2.67 million) as against 260 lakh (2.6 million) in the same period last year recording a 2.78 per cent growth, latest official air traffic data showed.
The airlines have waived charges for transport of relief cargo to Chennai.
Aviation consultancy CAPA on Thursday said allowing domestic airlines to take advance bookings from April 15 is "unfair" to consumers since a decision on lifting the nationwide lockdown is yet to be taken. During the lockdown period only special flights approved by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, medical evacuation flights and those carrying cargo, including medical equipment, to and from different parts of the country are operational.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
As India reached the halfway point in the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, some states and rail and airline operators were considering measures to relax restrictions in phases from April 15. Simultaneously, the Centre has drawn up a cluster containment strategy to contain the coronavirus pandemic within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas.
As major airports like Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad have a severe cap on the number of fights they can handle, cancellations continued on Tuesday.
'The need for added safety has bolstered demand for charter flights in the last year and is expected to continue.'
Expected to end four years of administrative turmoil in Indian boxing, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) was elected to office with businessman Ajay Singh winning the Presidential poll by an overwhelming margin.
