Talking Point: India’s domestic passenger traffic up 17 per cent in February

“India topped the domestic chart for the 23rd month in a row,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its global passenger traffic data. India’s domestic revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) and available seat kilometres (ASK) were the highest among major aviation markets like Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia and the US.

The IATA data showed that India’s domestic RPK -- which measures actual passenger traffic -- rose by 17 per cent in February compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. India’s domestic passenger traffic growth was followed by that of Russia at 13.3 per cent, China at 9.1 per cent and Japan at 1.7 per cent.

In contrast, Brazil reported a decline of 4.8 per cent in domestic passenger traffic, followed by Australia at 3.3 per cent and the US at 0.4 per cent. India’s domestic ASK -- which measures available passenger capacity -- edged higher by 14 per cent in February, followed by Russia at 13.8 per cent and China at 5.3 per cent.

In addition, the association said the global RPK rose 4.8 per cent during the month compared to the February 2016. The association added that the global ASK edged up by 2.7 per cent. “The strong demand momentum from January has continued, supported by lower fares and a healthier economic backdrop,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and Chief Executive, IATA.

“Although we remain concerned over the impact of any travel restrictions or closing of borders, we have not seen the attempted US ban on travel from six countries translate into an identifiable traffic trend. Overall travel demand continues to grow at a robust rate.” The international passenger demand for February was up 5.8 per cent compared to the year-ago period, which was down compared to the 9.1 per cent yearly increase recorded in January.

“Adjusting for the leap year, however, growth actually accelerated slightly compared to January,” IATA added.