India sees 25 percent rise in air traffic in last 2 years

NEW DELHI: India has witnessed an over 25 percent increase in air traffic in the last two years with Kingfisher emerging as the number one carrier.

According to the data received by an RTI filing with the DGCA, the number of passengers travelling by air are increasing and there has been an increase of 25.42 per cent over the last two years.

Among all the air carriers in India, Kingfisher topped the list carrying nearly 9.61 lakh passengers for the month of July 2011, followed by IndiGo.

"Kingfisher faces stiff competition from IndiGo, which has consistently been battling for the top spot since December 2010," Medianama.com Founder Nikhil Pahwa said.

IndiGo carried 10.91 lakh passengers in May 2011. Besides, in the three months period between September-December 2010, it has risen from the fourth spot to the second.

Meanwhile, the figures for Air India passengers is on a declining trend after December 2010, when it reached its peak with 8.90 lakh passengers.

Air India carried 8.33 lakh passengers in July 2011, the fourth highest for the month.

May seems to be the best productive month for all the carriers. Most of the airlines have attained there peak during this time.

A comparision of figures of May 2010 and May 2011, shows a growth of 15.29 per cent.

Meanwhile, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) report India recorded the highest domestic passenger growth this July at over 20 per cent, followed by Brazil at about 18 per cent, though the growth was slower for international air traffic.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com