Domestic air passenger traffic grows by just 3.74% in 2019; expect double-digit growth soon: DGCA

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday said domestic air passenger traffic grew to 14.41 crore in 2019, an increase of just 3.74 percent compared to 2018. The domestic air passenger traffic grew by 18.6 percent to 13.89 crore in 2018. Commenting on the 2019 data, a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, “A bit disappointing. In 2019, we faced headwinds on account of Jet Airways but 2020 is going to be different and the double-digit growth should be back sooner rather than later.” [caption id=“attachment_5109331” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Due to lack of funds, Jet Airways had stopped its flight operations in April last year. The domestic air passenger traffic in December 2019 increased by 2.56 percent to 1.30 crore compared to the same month in 2018, according to data released by the DGCA on Monday. In comparison, the growth in domestic traffic in November 2019 was 11.18 percent. The passenger load factors of all major airlines - Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir, IndiGo, AirAsia India and Vistara - declined in December 2019 as compared to November last year, as per the DGCA data. The passenger load factor measures the seat capacity utilisation of the airline. IndiGo maintained its lead position with 47.5 percent share of the domestic passenger market in December 2019, the data showed. SpiceJet’s market share increased from 16.1 percent in November to 16.5 percent in December, giving it the number two spot, as per the data. The market share of Air India, GoAir, AirAsia India and Vistara was 11.9 percent, 10.2 percent, 7 percent and 6.1 percent respectively last month. In December last year, a total of 957 passenger-related complaints were received by the domestic airlines, according to the DGCA data. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of December was around 0.74. Among major domestic airlines, Air India topped the list of passenger grievances with 2.3 complaints per 10,000 passengers in September, while GoAir was on number two position with 0.9 complaints per 10,000 passengers, as per the DGCA data.