The seven domestic airlines flew 49.36 lakh passengers in January this year an increase of almost 21 per cent over the 40.88 lakh passengers carried during the same period in the previous year.

The latest data released by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that in January this year Kingfisher Airlines occupied the top slot in terms of passengers flown at 9.61 lakh passengers followed by the Delhi-based low-cost airline IndiGo at 9.50 lakh passengers.

During the first month of this calendar year, Jet Airways flew 8.54 lakh passengers, Air India 7.79 lakh, SpiceJet 7.05 lakh, JetLite 3.72 lakh and IndiGo 3.15 lakh.

The end of the peak season in January saw a decrease in number of seats offered by the industry being filled as against December 2010.

In January, the sector shelled out a total compensation of Rs 52.25 lakh. This included Rs 27.72 lakh as compensation and facilities to more than 67,000 passengers who were affected by flight delays.

The industry paid Rs 16.05 lakh as compensation to 576 passengers who were denied boarding and Rs 8.48 lakh to about 13,000 passengers whose flights were cancelled.