The last time commercial flights operated in India was March 24, a day before the nationwide lockdown kicked in which has since been extended twice and is in place at least until May 17.
Indian airlines have since been grounded with just cargo flights operating to transport essential medical supplies - to and from country. The government will also start the repatriation flights from May 7, but the commercial operations remain suspended.
The lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus has badly hurt the aviation sector with the domestic airlines reporting Rs 8,000 crore in losses in April.
The airlines had zero passengers for the last six days in March, according to data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In March, airlines flew 7.8 million passengers, against 11.5 million in the same month last year.
As per the latest estimates by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines in India are likely to suffer a revenue loss of $11.2 billion, leading to 2.9 million jobs at risk as passenger demand will fall by 47 per cent.
The estimates from IATA indicate a worsening of the impact from the pandemic and travel restrictions in the Asia Pacific region.
The IATA, which is a grouping of around 290 airlines, including Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet, last month said that globally, airlines now face an existential crisis, and Indian aviation has not been spared.
06/05/20 Basit Aijaz/India Times
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Indian airlines have since been grounded with just cargo flights operating to transport essential medical supplies - to and from country. The government will also start the repatriation flights from May 7, but the commercial operations remain suspended.
The lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus has badly hurt the aviation sector with the domestic airlines reporting Rs 8,000 crore in losses in April.
The airlines had zero passengers for the last six days in March, according to data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In March, airlines flew 7.8 million passengers, against 11.5 million in the same month last year.
As per the latest estimates by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines in India are likely to suffer a revenue loss of $11.2 billion, leading to 2.9 million jobs at risk as passenger demand will fall by 47 per cent.
The estimates from IATA indicate a worsening of the impact from the pandemic and travel restrictions in the Asia Pacific region.
The IATA, which is a grouping of around 290 airlines, including Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet, last month said that globally, airlines now face an existential crisis, and Indian aviation has not been spared.
06/05/20 Basit Aijaz/India Times
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