Domestic air pax traffic grew 8% YoY in Q3 FY24, slowest in 22 months: Jefferies

Domestic air pax traffic grew more than 8 per cent YoY to 13.8 million in the December quarter, which was slowest in 22 months, Jefferies said in its latest report. Among the large airlines, IndiGo’s domestic pax grew 22 per cent YoY, while its market share was stable at 61.8 per cent in December as compared to Air India's 27 per cent.

SpiceJet share dipped to 5.6 per cent in December from 6.2 per cent in November 2023, while Akasa's share slightly improved to 4.4 per cent in December vs 4.2 per cent in November last year.

The analysts noted the sector may see slower growth in pax due to high air fares and constrained capacity.

Domestic air traffic witnessed a significant increase of 18.3 per cent in September. As per data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), domestic airlines transported around 1.23 crore passengers during the previous month.

IndiGo, which is the largest airline in the country, has been hit by the spate of complaints and hostility on social media due to its poor management of flight delays. On Sunday, a passenger on the IndiGo flight number 6E 2175 between Delhi and Goa assaulted the co-pilot, Anup Kumar, when he was announcing a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport.According to flight tracking website flightradar24, the IndiGo flight took off from Delhi at 6pm after a delay of more than 10 hours. 

The incident took place on a day when dense fog majorly impacted operations at the Delhi airport leading to many flights being diverted, cancelled or delayed. According to flight tracking website flightradar24, the IndiGo flight took off from Delhi at 6pm after a delay of more than 10 hours.

Following this, Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia reacted sharply and said “unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable” and "will be dealt with strongly" in line with existing legal provisions.

Later, in a statement, IndiGo Airlines said the passenger "assaulted" the co-pilot and that the matter had been referred to an independent internal committee for his inclusion in the "no-fly list".

Later, the DGCA issued an SOP instructing all scheduled airlines to comply with it regarding flight delays and cancellations. According to the SOP, airlines must publish accurate real-time information about flight delays on their website and notify affected passengers in advance through SMS, WhatsApp, and email. 

The SOP also states that airlines may cancel flights that are expected to be delayed for more than 3 hours due to fog or adverse weather conditions, in order to prevent congestion at the airport and minimize passenger inconvenience.