Lockdown: Airlines Gasp For Breath

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, the busiest in the country, operated only 9,335 domestic flights in June this year as against 27,985 flights in the same month last year, a drop of nearly 67%.

- Kumar Vikram

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, the second busiest, operated a mere 2,594 domestic flights this June as against 19,682 in the same month in 2019—a drop of 87%.

These telling numbers are not restricted only to the two biggest airports in the country.

Official data accessed by this newspaper shows that Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown have played havoc with the aviation sector, resulting in a sharp fall in the number of flights operated and the number of fliers from air ports across the country.

Consider the number of domestic flights in June 2019 and 2020 from some of the other prominent airports.

Chennai airport saw a drop of more than 80%, Bengaluru 74%, Hyderabad 71% and Kolkata 61% in flight operations.

The numbers are more grim if April-June 2019 and the same period this year are compared. Most airports show a drop of more than 80% (see graphic).