Airports Authority Revenue Saw 70% Fall Between June Quarters Of 2019-20 And 2021-22

Hit by the Coronavirus pandemic, which led to the closure of airports across the country after March 2020, with flights available only for major cities during the better part of last year, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) reported a significant 70 per cent fall in its revenue from Rs 2,976.17 crore during April-June 2019 to only Rs 889 crore during April-June 2021.

According to Ministry of Civil Aviation data, even the footfalls across 97 airports of the country between January 2021 and July 2021 saw a decline of 40 per cent.

In January 2021, 85,17,828 passengers availed airport facilities in the country while undertaking air journey, as during that time there were relaxations in air travel due to a dip in Coronavirus infections.

However in July 2021, this number fell down by 40 per cent to 50,99,692 as the potent second wave of infections had badly hit the country, restricting all sorts travel with several states imposing lockdowns which lasted for almost two months between May and June of this year.

According to a report by rating agency ICRA, domestic passenger traffic had stood within the range of 19 to 20 lakh in May 2021 compared to 57.3 lakh in April 2021, recording a sequential decline of 65 per cent due to the severity of the second wave.