A daily flight will start operating on Delhi-Bhavnagar and the Mumbai-Bhavnagar route for the first time from August 20, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. The minister, however, did not specify which airline will be operating the flights on the aforementioned routes.
“From August 20, the first daily air service is going to start from New Delhi to Bhavnagar. Along with this, a daily service from Mumbai to Bhavnagar will also start from the same day," Scindia said on Twitter. “This will certainly ensure easy accessibility to Delhi and Mumbai for Bhavangar’s citizens," he noted. The minister said the civil aviation sector is determined to connect every nook and corner of the country with air services under the successful leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At a recently held press conference, IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh has asked the Indian government to relook at their decision to ban scheduled international flights and said things have improved. Addressing the media, Walsh said that the decision was applicable to last year when the situation was worse but with all the regulations in place and safety being paramount consideration for airlines, the centre should allow scheduled international flights.
He also said that the Vande Bharat Flights and Air Bubble pacts were primarily for bringing back stranded Indians and that’s no more the case. Also, regulations on capacity utilisation as well as fare caps on the domestic aviation sector is slowing down the industry’s recovery, he noted.
Notably, the centre’s regulations have been justified to protect the domestic aviation sector from economic turmoil unleashed by Covid-19. However, IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said that the regulations are distorting the market rather than supporting the growth of the market.
According to Walsh, India’s aviation market will recover much faster, if these regulations are removed. Previous data points showed that India’s domestic air passenger volume — measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) — growth plunged by 42 per cent in April when compared to the levels in the like period of 2019.
The country’s domestic available passenger capacity — measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs) — was down by over 15 per cent. Besides, IATA predicted that India’s aviation market will recover to the 2019 levels by 2024.
Furthermore, he called for the easing of international travel restrictions on fully vaccinated passengers. IATA has proposed a comprehensive system should be set in place that allows hassle-free travel for those inoculated.
Moreover, the system should also ensure testing and verification of those passengers who have not been inoculated but without increasing the already set restrictions.
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A few weeks ago, the Ministry of Civil Aviation allowed domestic air carriers to operate 65 per cent of its pre-covid schedule. The capping has been increased from 50 per cent capacity on which airlines were operating since June 1 in accordance to May 28, after the surge in cases during the second wave of COVID-19. Before June 1, airlines in India were operating at 80 per cent capacity.
India banned all domestic and international flights from operating last March as the first cases of COVID-19 reached Indian shores. While International flights are still banned, domestic operations were allowed last May in a calibrated manner.
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