Domestic air passenger traffic dips in 2019, rises just 5.1% after four years of double-digit growth: IATA

New Delhi: After four years of double-digit growth, the Indian domestic passenger traffic rose by just 5.1 percent in 2019, down from 18.9 percent in 2018, global airlines body IATA said on Thursday. “The year 2019 was challenging for air travel in the domestic India market. After more than four years of double-digit expansion, the market’s RPK growth slowed sharply (5.1 percent in 2019 vs 18.9 percent in 2018) amidst the Jet Airways bankruptcy and weakening economic activity,” said a statement issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA, which represents around 290 airlines comprising 82 percent of global air traffic, measures passenger growth in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), which is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers to the distance travelled by them. About Indian market, the IATA noted, “Passenger volumes ended the year on a soft note (up 1.7 percent year-on-year in December), which highlights the challenges for the market in the period ahead.”