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New Delhi: Around 78.27 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in February 2021 which is 36.71% lower than the corresponding period last year, Indian aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 77.34 lakh people travelled by air within the country in January.

While IndiGo carried 42.38 lakh passengers in February, a 54.2% share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 9.62 lakh passengers which is 12.3% share of the market, according to data shared by the DGCA.

Air India, GoAir, Vistara and AirAsia India carried 9.16 lakh, 5.81 lakh, 5.4 lakh and 5.21 lakh passengers, respectively, in February, it showed.

The occupancy rate or load factor of the six major Indian airlines was between 67.9% and 78.9% in February, it stated.

“The passenger load factor in February 2021 has shown increasing trend compared to previous month primarily due to beginning of tourist season,” the DGCA said.

The occupancy rate at SpiceJet was 78.9% in February, the regulator noted.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rates for IndiGo, Vistara, GoAir, Air India and AirAsia India were 74.4%, 73.7%, 76.5%, 78.3% and 67.9%, respectively, according to the DGCA.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 80% of their pre-COVID-19 domestic flights.

The DGCA data mentioned that in February, IndiGo had the best on-time performance of 94% at four metro airports — Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

AirAsia India and Vistara were at number two and three positions at these four airports in February with 85.2% and 82.9% on-time performance respectively, the regulator said.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leaves without pay and lay offs in order to tide over the crisis.