The resumption of scheduled international flights after a pandemic-induced hiatus of two years is a ray of hope for the aviation sector and the larger tourism industry.

The Indian aviation regulator has approved over 3,200 international departures to 43 countries during the summer schedule. ICRA estimates the international passenger traffic to reach pre-COVID levels in FY24 with Southeast Asia, Middle East, Europe driving demand.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Rajeev Mehra of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said the demand for international travel may increase once the fares stabilize.

“Demand recovery depends on the airfares. If the airfares subside then people going out of India will see a lot of increase. So with the increase in number of flights the fares will come down to a reasonably good level and the demand will increase. So if everything is alright, the peak mid-May to June outbound sector will see a growth of at least 50 percent of what it used to be 2019.”

He said business travel within India and abroad has increased but expects leisure travel pickup to take some time.

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