Govt allows airlines to up capacity to 80% of pre-Covid level on domestic routes

New Delhi: Here's a bit of good news for the aviation industry, especially for domestic air carriers. The government has further eased its norms and allowed Indian air carriers to fly up to 80 percent of pre-COVID-19 capacity, up from the previously permitted capacity of 70 percent. Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on Twitter, "Domestic operations recommenced with 30K passengers on 25 May & have now touched a high of 2.52 lakhs on 30 Nov 2020. Ministry of Civil Aviation is now allowing domestic carriers to increase their operations from the existing 70% to 80% of pre-Covid approved capacity."

On March 24, the government had imposed a complete ban on all national and international flights due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, some flights were operated during the lockdown to rescue citizens stranded overseas under the Vande Bharat Mission.

After a complete suspension of flight operations for two months due to a nationwide lockdown, the Civil Aviation Ministry had allowed airlines to resume commercial domestic services on May 25. However, the airlines were initially allowed to operate at 33 percent of their pre-Covid capacity. Later, the cap was increased to 45 percent on June 26 and 60 percent on September 2, before being increased to 70 percent on November 11. There has been a steep rise in passenger traffic since air travel resumed in May. In a statement issued recently, Puri had said that the government expects passenger traffic to reach pre-Covid level by the end of the current year or early next year.

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