2016 summer schedule will see 18% rise in domestic flights

Domestic passengers will have more options to choose from this summer. Airlines are planning to operate 14,869 weekly departures during summer schedule 2016 – an 18.6 per cent increase from the 12,533 weekly departures in 2015 summer schedule. Officials said this was the highest increase in weekly departures in recent times.

Globally airlines follow a winter and summer schedule. The winter schedule runs from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March of the following year, and the summer schedule extends for the rest of the year.

Mysuru, Bhavnagar, Porbandar and Nanded will, however, not benefit from the increase in domestic flightswith airlines halting their operations to these cities. With this the number of airports is down to 77 from 81.A senior DGCA official told newspersons that airlines are free to operate to any airport or withdraw operations if the flights are not commercially viable. While the airlines have permission to withdraw flights to any airport they have to comply with the route dispersal guidelines (RDG) while starting or withdrawing a flight. RDG stipulates the number of flights each airline has to operate in the various regions of the country.

The increase in domestic flight operations is led by Vistara and AirAsia India – the two new airlines in which international airlines have a stake. Singapore Airlines has a 49 per cent stake in Vistara while the Malaysia-headquartered AirAsia has a stake in AirAsia India.

Vistara plans to offer 334 weekly departures in summer schedule 2016 up from 176 in summer 2015, a 90 per cent rise. AirAsia India plans a 66.7 per cent increase during summer schedule 2016 with 280 weekly departures.

Air India and Air Costa are the only two domestic airlines which will see a decline in weekly departures in summer schedule 2016.

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