India allows domestic flights to fly at full capacity

BENGALURU: Domestic flights in India will fly at full capacity from Oct. 18, India's civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday, as it lifted one of the major restrictions on the industry since the onset of the pandemic 18 months ago.

The government's move ahead of the Indian festive season comes as a boon to the struggling domestic carriers, including IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, which were starting to see some improvements in passenger traffic due to a drop in COVID-19 infections in most states. In August, regulatory data showed that passenger growth jumped 136.6% as the government started to ease COVID-related travel restrictions.