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Inoculation drive to pump up airline sector
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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Jan, 2021
India's aviation sector is set to become a major beneficiary of the
massive anti-Covid vaccination programme which has re-ignited the
confidence of the travellers.
Market insiders have cited that the
commencement of the inoculation drive has raised travellers' optimism,
which will not only boost air travel, but also the entire hospitality
value chain.
Consequently, industry players like ixigo have seen a surge in demand and search queries.
"We
are already seeing a renewed sense of optimism among the travellers in
the wake of the vaccine roll-out. Demand and search queries for travel
are slowly increasing, while domestic travel is on the road to a strong
recovery," said Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder and CTO, ixigo.
"On the
international front, we are still at 40 per cent of pre-Covid range in
terms of bookings due to the current country restrictions. A widespread
and effective distribution of the vaccine will be critical to get the
international travel numbers back to normal," he added.
India
launched the biggest vaccination drive in the world on January 16. The
programme is backed up by the country's comparative advantage of having
the largest vaccine manufacturing capacity in the world and a rich
experience of mass inoculation drives against polio and measles.
"The
pick up in leisure as well as business travel is dependent on the
improvement in consumer sentiments, which in turn is dependent on the
wide availability of a vaccine," said Kinjal Shah, Vice President, ICRA.
India's
airline industry was heavily battered by the pandemic's onslaught. It
is now gearing up to deploy 100 per cent of the pre-Covid capacity.
"The
rollout of the vaccination programme in India will surely provide
confidence for higher mobility, including air travel," said Suman
Chowdhury, Chief Analytical Officer at Acuite Ratings & Research.
"The
pent up demand for travel both in the leisure and the business segment
along with the attractive deep discount available from the airlines for
near term travel is expected to facilitate a revival in the domestic
airline sector," Chowdhury added.
The latest passenger traffic
data from sector regulator DGCA indicate that the growth in passenger
volumes is not yet adequate enough for a revival in the airline sector.
The aggregate passenger traffic in December 2020 at 73.27 lakh was still 43.7 per cent lower on a year-on-year basis.
"The
vaccine roll-out is a positive development. It is expected to give a
boost to travel, tourism and hospitality industries. People will get
more inclined to travel, thereby reigniting leisure as well as business
travel," a Senior IndiGo official told IANS.
According to a
Vistara spokesperson: "The roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines has definitely
given hope to the industry for a faster recovery. We are optimistic that
this will now translate into positive sentiment and confidence, thus
bringing about further revival of the industry."
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