Pant Nagar and Diu will be added to the domestic air map with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approving flights to these two airports during the forthcoming winter schedule, which starts from the end of this month.

Domestic airlines will have 12,305 weekly departures in the winter schedule 2014, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the 11,886 weekly departures clocked during winter schedule 2013.

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, while the rest of the year forms the summer schedule.

IndiGo and GoAir are the only two domestic carriers which will register an increase in weekly departures during the winter schedule 2014 as compared to the winter schedule 2013.

IndiGo will operate 3,733 weekly flights during the winter schedule, an increase of 25 per cent over the 2,987 flights that it operated during winter schedule 2013.

The airline will also add its fourth daily non-stop flight between Delhi and Goa, apart from starting a ninth daily non-stop service between Delhi and Bangalore during the winter schedule.

GoAir plans to have 957 weekly departures during winter schedule 2014, a 12.6 per cent increase over the 850 weekly departures operated during winter schedule 2013.

SpiceJet plans to have 2,277 weekly departures during winter schedule 2014, a decline of 16.2 per cent over the 2,718 weekly departures during winter schedule 2013. Commenting on the decline in flights being operated, a SpiceJet spokesperson said that the airline had shrunk its fleet since last year by seven aircraft. “What is more interesting though is how we have gained share despite shrinking our fleet,” the spokesperson said.

Air India, which will have fewer flights this winter schedule, has launched a four-times-a-week service linking the national capital with Pantnagar.

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