The civil aviation on Monday lifted all restrictions on domestic flight movements. Airlines will now be capable to operate at one hundred per cent from October 18. The restrictions had been imposed when airlines resumed operations following a covid-led break last May. The government is having said that but to eliminate the fare caps. The government decided to do away with the capacity restrictions imposed on airlines for domestic flights and have permitted them to operate at one hundred per cent capacity due to the onset of festival seasons which has rebounded the demand in air travel after once again.
Why does the government loosen up flight capacity restrictions?
In the official release, government stated that owing to the passenger demand for air travel, we have decided to restore domestic air operations. “After a review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations vis-a-vis passenger demand for air travel … It has been decided to restore the scheduled domestic air operations with effect from 18.10.21 without any capacity restriction. The airlines/airport operators shall, however, ensure that the covid guidelines are followed strictly and that COVID appropriate behavior is strictly maintained by passengers during the travel”.
Restrictions in the previous
Ever because domestic aviation reopened in May 2020 following two-month full lockdown, the Centre has regulated the quantity of flights that can operate on domestic routes. Earlier, the cap on the quantity of flights was 33 per cent of the pre-Covid schedule. And then, the flight capacity progressively upped to 80 per cent till Covid-19’s second wave grappled the nation. The government following that decreased it to 50 per cent and then relaxed it to 60 per cent, 72.5 per cent , 85 per cent and has now fully lifted all the restrictions and permitted flights to operate at one hundred per cent capacity.
How is the air visitors demand in India displaying up?
On October 10, domestic passenger numbers stood at 3.04 lakh crossing the 3 lakh per day mark for the initial time because February 28, 2021, when 3.14 lakh passengers had traveled on domestic flights to distinctive locations.
Given the rise in domestic flight demand, India’s two largest airports–Delhi and Mumbai geared up to meet the rise in air visitors and reopened the terminals that had been otherwise closed on account of low footfall. Operations at Delhi’s Terminal 1 would resume from October 31, announced the Delhi Airport following remaining closed for virtually 18 months. Mumbai Airport, on the other hand, witnessed flight delays last week due to the sudden improve in visitors.