The capacity of domestic air travel was increased to 80 per cent of the pre-Covid capacity by the government in December

Sunday recorded the highest number of air passengers since resumption of domestic operations on May 25 last year, with 2.87 lakh passengers flying on 2,230 flights.

Sharing the number of passengers who flew during the 24-hour period, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that the aviation industry will soon be back to pre-Covid numbers.

“India flies high. ✈️ 2,87,210 passengers flew on 2,230 flights on 7 Feb 2021. This is the highest since resumption of domestic operations on 25 May 2020. We are now within touching distance of Pre-COVID numbers,” said Puri in a tweet.

https://twitter.com/HardeepSPuri/status/1358722926913064961

The sharp recovery in India's domestic aviation sector comes in the backdrop of a prolonged global slump in air demand. The International Air Transport Association's (IATA’s) report that said 2020 was the worst year for the aviation industry. As per the report, the air traffic demand witnessed the sharpest decline of 65.9 percent globally.

The capacity of domestic air travel was increased to 80 per cent of their pre-Covid capacity from the previous 70 per cent by the government in December last year. Domestic air travel had resumed in May, 2020 however the initial air travel capacity was limited to 33 per cent of their pre-Covid levels to contain the spread of coronavirus through travel.