Airlines Shares Hog Limelight

New Delhi: The shares of IndiGo’s parent company Interglobe Aviation and troubled low-cost carrier SpiceJet shot up by three per cent in Tuesday’s intraday trade after India’s domestic air traffic crossed the historic five lakh mark in a single day for the first time ever.

The surge in traffic is being driven by the strong demand for air travel in the country amid the festive and wedding seasons with airlines carrying over 5.0 5 lakh passengers on November 17, while flight departures stood at 3,173.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation lauded the historic high in a post on X, stating: “On November 17, 2024, Indian aviation marked a historic milestone as 5,05,412 domestic passengers flew in a single day, surpassing the remarkable 5-lakh passenger threshold. This reflects the sector’s rapid growth and the increasing trust of Indians in air travel’s accessibility and reliability.”

The occupancy of flights operated by the main scheduled carriers on Sunday was above 90 per cent. However, On Time Performance (OTP) of the airlines has been impacted in recent days due to various factors including the dense smog at airports in the north, especially New Delhi. Flights have had to be delayed as visibility has been low in the morning hours. On Sunday, the OTP of IndiGo was at 74.2 per cent, followed by Alliance Air at 71 per cent and Akasa Air at 67.6 per cent.