India Air Traffic Grows 16.3% in Oct: IATA

India’s domestic air traffic grows 16.3 per cent in October, compared to same period last year, said by International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to latest IATA data, market stimulation by local airlines helped domestic air traffic in India to grow by 16.3 percent, more than China, in October.

"Indian domestic traffic climbed 16.3 percent. Although this was a considerable slowdown compared to September year- over-year growth of 26.4 percent, it was still a strong result and reflects market stimulation by local carriers," IATA said.

Global domestic travel demand rose by 5.8 percent in October compared to the same month last year with the strongest growth occurring in China, which saw a 10 percent growth, and India, the release said.

Domestic carriers have been from the beginning of the year offering low fares through a series of discounted ticket schemes to stimulate demand.

According to DGCA data released last month, domestic airlines flew 59.25 lakh passengers in October this year as compared to 50.08 lakh passengers during the same period in 2013. The number of passengers carried by domestic airlines during the January-October period was 550.68 lakh as against 507.03 lakh in the year-ago period.

According to the IATA data for October, international passenger demand rose 5.5 percent during the period compared to the same month last year, with airlines in all regions except Africa recording growth, IATA said.