Moneycontrol PRO
Check Credit Score
Check Credit Score
HomeNewsBusiness

Almost 65% of domestic air travel back to pre COVID-19 level: Pradeep Singh Kharola

"On the first day of resumption of domestic air services (May 25) there were 79,000 people who would travel and we were worried. But gradually it started improving,” Pradeep Singh Kharola said.

November 28, 2020 / 07:19 PM IST

Nearly 65 percent of the domestic air travel has returned to the pre-COVID-19 level and now there is a need to evolve a strategy to bring back the tourism industry on its feet, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said on Saturday.

He was addressing a webinar on 'Aviation and Tourism-the Road Ahead’ hosted by the Federation of Association of Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH).

Kharola also said in the times of COVID-19 air travel has become a preferred mode of travel for being a safe means of transportation.

"On the first day of resumption of domestic air services (May 25) there were 79,000 people who would travel and we were worried. But gradually it started improving,” he said.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

Kharola said, on Friday total 2.50 lakh passengers travelled on domestic flights and considering that the average per day passenger number was around 3.70-3.75 lakh before the pandemic hit the country, almost 65 percent of the domestic travel is back to the pre-COVID-19 level.

He said that as more business activities and colleges open up, this may go up to 80-90 percent in the next 2-3 months or almost to the level of normalcy.

Kharola also said as business travel demand will take time to come back, it will be segments like VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) driving the demand in aviation going forward.

On the opening of scheduled international commercial passengers flights, he said, "international aviation depends not only on us but other side also.”

Kharola said with domestic air travel returning to normalcy, the tourism industry too should be brought back on its feet.

"Aviation is going towards normal. This normalcy ought to be brought in tourism industry also. Tourist destinations have already opened up, the ASI has opened up the monuments. Now is the time to convince people that it is safe to travel,” Kharola said.

"So we all have to work together and evolve a strategy to motivate that domestic tourism also picks up,” he said, adding that at the same time other countries should also consider issuing tourist visas again.

Kharola also urged the tourism industry to promote domestic airlines as it would help in revival of the economy.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

PTI
first published: Nov 28, 2020 07:19 pm

Discover the latest business news, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347