Following a period of recovery, air passenger traffic in India experienced a decline in June, according to recent data. After the end of the India-Pakistan hostilities, domestic air travel saw a resurgence. However, figures from the Ministry of Civil Aviation indicate a decrease in average daily passengers following the Air India accident on June 12. In April, the average number of daily passengers was 490,000. The India-Pakistan conflict caused a dip in May, with numbers returning to 490,000 before the June 12 incident, after which they fell to 460,000.
International air travel has also decreased since May due to the India-Pakistan conflict. Air India reduced its international flights using wide-body aircraft by 15% after the Air India-171 flight crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in 241 fatalities. Between June 12 and June 17, Air India canceled 83 wide-body operations. Average daily international passengers declined from 118,000 in April to 113,000 in May and 102,000 in June.
While the weakness in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices could offset the decline in passenger demand, the current geopolitical situation is impacting the airline sector. Crude oil prices have risen by approximately 20% since the beginning of June, reaching $77/bbl as of June 19. This increase may negatively affect earnings during the seasonally weak second quarter.
