India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday allowed domestic flights to operate at 100% of the scheduled capacity from October 18. The move comes as a part of making travel easier for people in the festive season as a significant uptick in the demand for air travel was reported in Indians.

While the Centre has done away with the capacity restriction in view of the festive season, other COVID protocols such as masks mandate and social distancing will very well remain in place.

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The decision is likely to facilitate the recovery of the aviation industry that has suffered a huge blow during the pandemic induced travel curbs and lockdowns. In this article we will attempt to analyse what easing the capacity restrictions for domestic air travel means for India.

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Why has the government eliminated capacity restrictions?

According to the statement released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the government after the review of the current status concluded that there has been a rise in demand for air travel during the festive season.

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“After review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel”, the ministry has “decided to restore all scheduled domestic operations with effect from 18-10-2021 without any capacity restriction,” read the statement.

“The airlines/airport operators shall, however, ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of Covid are strictly adhered to and Covid appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced by them during the travel,” the statement added.

What is the status of air traffic demand in India?

According to the government data, the domestic passenger numbers on October 10, 2021, was recorded at 3.04 lakh surpassing the 3 lakh per day mark, for the first time since February 28.

With the surge in demand, two of India’s largest airports- Delhi and Mumbai have geared up for the traffic by reopening terminals that were closed on account of low footfall earlier.

Delhi Airport announced that operations at Terminal 1 would resume from October 31, almost 18 months after closure, with IndiGo and SpiceJet.