New Delhi: The slowdown-hit domestic
aviation industry is witnessing some stability in passenger
traffic, though it would take some more time for the overall
recovery, aviation experts and organisations feel.
The latest official figures have shown a marginal
improvement in air traffic with domestic carriers flying 36.3
lakh passengers in August compared with 35.97 lakh in the
month before.
In the three weeks of September, there has been a 14-15
per cent rise in passenger traffic compared with that in last
September, Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director of the Bird Group,
which provides a large number of aviation related services to
major airlines, MROs and related companies globally, told
here.
Noting that improvement in air travel during the festival
season was an annual feature, he said the upward trend in
passenger traffic was likely to continue beyond this season
unless retarded by any economic, political or security crises.
The current upward trend would lead to recovery by the
end of the current financial year if no external factor
contributed to its stalling, he added.
Bhatia also estimated that though the domestic air
traffic had dipped from the 2007 levels last year, it would
remain at the 2008 level this calender year too.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 17:58