Recession hit air traffic to US, Britain

Mumbai: The global economic downturn not only caused heartburn in India, it also dampened Indians' newfound wanderlust. Encumbered by the difficult times, Indians reduced their travel to and from various international destinations, but not all.
While flights operating between India and countries like the US, UK, Singapore, Sri Lanka suffered between 2008 and 2010, a few places like Dubai and Hong Kong witnessed a surge in passenger traffic. Of these, Hong Kong was the biggest beneficiary; air traffic between India and the bustling Chinese city grew by 128% in 2008-09 and by 68% in 2009-10. During these years, air traffic to most other countries fell by an average of 10%, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday.
Experts say the reason Hong Kong has suddenly found favour with fliers is the bilateral agreement signed between the special administrative region and India, which has allowed Cathay Pacific to operate more flights between the two destinations.
The DGCA statistics also show that Indian airlines are slowly catching up with their foreign carriers on international routes. Though foreign airlines continue to ferry the majority of passengers to and from India, fliers have somewhat warmed up to Indian carriers in the last five years. In 2004-05, 71% of passengers flying between India and other destination chose foreign carriers; by 2009-10, that number had fallen to 66%.
14/02/11 Manju V/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Feb 2011, Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2011