Domestic Flights Can Operate At Full Capacity From Oct 18: Govt

Domestic flights full capacity: The government Tuesday greenlit the operation of domestic flights at full capacity in India from October 18 next week. The announcement, made by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, directs that COVID-19 appropriate behaviour should be "strictly adhered to" and "strictly enforced."

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the government had imposed certain restrictions on passenger travel capacity in airlines to curb spread of the disease in May last year. Air operations will now be restored without capacity control.

"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 central order states.

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India's sky is now officially fully open for domestic flights! pic.twitter.com/anWSnW7znr

— Anisha Dutta (@A2D2_) October 12, 2021

Domestic Flights Full Capacity Gets Approval: What To Know About Pandemic Travel

Domestic flights are currently operational at 85 percent of their pre-pandemic capacity, as directed by government orders in September. The prescribed capacity fluctuated over the past year at different points, even reaching half capacity following the second wave.

According to ICRA Limited, a commercial credit rating agency, domestic air passenger traffic grew 2-3 percent in India in September this year.

With India in a phase of relative relaxation after the devastating COVID-19 second wave that claimed over a lakh lives countrywide in 2021, travel and tourism have begun opening up in a phased manner. Last week, the government announced they would resume granting tourist visas to foreigners after a year-and-a-half pause. However, concerns loom large.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has warned of the phenomenon of 'revenge travel' possibly worsening the impact of the third wave of COVID-19 in India. 'Revenge travel' refers to people touring for leisure to make up for lost time during the lockdown.

The study by ICMR and Imperial College London published in the Journal of Travel Medicine says ">travelling in this period could usher in a high COVID-19 peak in February-March 2022.

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