Good News! Domestic Flights to Run at Full Capacity From Today – Deets Inside
New Delhi: As the Covid situation is somewhat stable in the country, the government has removed restrictions on domestic aviation capacity from today i.e., October 18 onwards. Scroll down for more details.Also Read - Rejoice! No More RT-PCR Checks For International Travellers at Karnataka Airports
Good News! Domestic Flights to Run at Full Capacity From Today – Deets Inside
According to the revised order by the Union ministry of civil aviation, now airlines will be running domestic flights without any capacity restrictions starting from today. Also Read - Domestic Flights: Jyotiraditya Scindia Flags Off 6 Routes Expanding Aerial Connectivity in North-East India. Check Details
As per the PTI report, the order was issued in view of the increase in “passengers’ demand for air travel,” the ministry stated. Since September 18 this year, the carriers were operating at 85 per cent of capacity due to the stringent Covid-19 restrictions. Also Read - Sydney Travel Alert: No Quarantine For Foreign Flyers From November 1
The deadly second wave of the coronavirus cases had forced the airlines to limit domestic flight operations to 50 percent capacity in June. The limitation continued till July, after which it was increased to 65 percent. The ministry further eased the limit to 72.5% between August 12 and September 18, owing to the improvement in the Covid situation in the country.
The order to resume flights operation to 100 percent capacity was issued on October 12. “It has been decided to restore the scheduled domestic air operation with effect from October 18, 2021, without any capacity restriction,” the aviation ministry had stated, according to a report in HT.
The decision was taken after a “review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel”, the notice mentioned.
Private Carriers & Their Responses
The revision in passengers’ capacity has been fully welcomed by the major carriers of the country. “It is a welcome move as we believe that with recent pent-up demand combined with the upcoming festive season, it will be great to operate flights on pre-pandemic levels. We are quite bullish about the overall growth and demand for domestic travel, ” said IndiGo in an PTI report.
Another private carrier, Vistara said the decision will help in “accelerating recovery from the severe impacts of the pandemic as demand continues to grow, especially with the growing confidence in air travel and the much-awaited festive season,” news agency PTI reported quoting the spokesperson.
