On Friday, the Centre has announced to approve the domestic summer schedule 2022 for airlines. This year there will be 3.7 per cent greater number of trips than the pre-pandemic times. This year’s late spring schedule will likewise have 10.1 per cent more trips than the relating time of last year.
The Summer Schedule
The summer schedule will be in effect from March 27 to October 29. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has endorsed the summer flight schedule of 25,309 domestic flights. In 2020, the summer schedule had an approved flight program of 24,409 flights, while in 2021, the approved flights were 22,980.
The statement by DGCA
In a statement, DGCA said, “Summer Schedule 2022 of the scheduled domestic airlines has been finalized after virtual slot conference meeting held in February 2022. The final slots clearances have been received from respective airport operators on ‘eGCA’ portal."
Further, it said, “It has been observed that 25,309 departures per week have been finalized to and from 112 airports."
As per the DGCA, out of 112 air terminals, Gondia, Ziro and Pondicherry are the new air terminals proposed by the scheduled flight carriers. In terms of airlines, IndiGo had the highest number of flights approved under the schedule. The airline had 11,130 flights approved followed by SpiceJet at 4,192, GoAir (now known as GoFirst) at 2,557 and Air India at 2,456.
Furthermore, Vistara had an approved flight strength of 1,741 and AirAsia India at 1,601. Alliance Air had 982 flights approved, TruJet at 355, Fly Big at 158 and Star Air at 137.