India allows domestic flights to fly at full capacity

Jet Airways (India)

12/10/2021 15:34

BENGALURU, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Domestic flights in India will
fly at full capacity from Oct. 18, India's civil aviation
ministry said on Tuesday, as it lifted one of the major
restrictions on the industry since the onset of the pandemic 18
months ago.
    The government's move ahead of the Indian festive season
comes as a boon to the struggling domestic carriers, including
IndiGo  INGL.NS  and SpiceJet Ltd  SPJT.NS , which were starting
to see some improvements in passenger traffic due to a drop in
COVID-19 infections in most states. 
    In August, regulatory data showed that passenger growth
jumped 136.6% as the government started to ease COVID-related
travel restrictions. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2QJ1BB
    "The airlines/airport operators shall, however, ensure that
the guidelines to contain the spread of COVID are strictly
adhered to and COVID appropriate behaviour is strictly
enforced," the ministry said in an order.
    Airlines including IndiGo, SpiceJet and Vistara - a joint
venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines - were allowed to
resume partial operations in May 2020 with limited capacity
after a two-month halt on operations to curb the spread of the
coronavirus.
    Since partial resumption, air travel has faced limitations
such as ticket pricing restrictions, protective suits and face
shields for flight attendants and passengers as well as curbs on
serving food on planes.
    The Indian aviation sector has been among the worst hit
since the pandemic began, with rating firm ICRA projecting the
industry to log a net loss of 250 billion to 260 billion rupees 
($3.31 billion to $3.44 billion) in FY2022.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2Q1148
    However, competition is set to heat up in the industry as
Jet Airways  JET.NS  plans to restart operations in the first
quarter of 2022 and as billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala backed
Akasa Air expects to take to the skies next year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2R72L8
    
($1 = 75.4750 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
 ((Chandini.M@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822697;))