Airlines prep for Q3 traffic record

A record number of Indians are expected to fly this December quarter thanks to the festival season, lengthy holidays and the upcoming cricket World Cup, airline executives said.

- Anu Sharma

“We are preparing ourselves for record demand during these three months. Capacity is being inducted accordingly, but the global supply constraints will have some impact on the supply side," an airline executive said on condition of anonymity, adding that this may lead to higher fares during the quarter.

In every month since January, air travel was higher than the corresponding pre-pandemic period by an average of nearly 8%, official data showed. Despite the grounding of Go First and steep fares, domestic air passenger traffic hit a record in May. During the month, Indian airlines carried over 13.2 million passengers, crossing the previous record of 13.02 million set in December 2019.