Airlines to Increase Winter Flights by 8%

Flight Deployments in India for Winter Season

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved a significant increase in flight departures for the upcoming winter season.

• 23,732 flight departures a week, an 8% rise compared to previous seasons.
• An increase of 1.4% compared to 2019’s winter season.
• 3.6% higher than the summer schedule.

DGCA’s Winter Flight Approvals

The DGCA approves flight departures for Indian airlines twice a year, for summer and winter schedules. The number of flights granted depends on airline applications. The winter schedule is effective from the last Sunday of October to the last Saturday of March.

Notable Changes in Flight Deployments

1. IndiGo – India’s largest airline, proposes a 30% increase with 13,119 flight departures.
2. Air India – Expected to grow by 19% with 2,367 flight departures.
3. AirAsia India and Air India Express – Proposed departures increase to 1,940 from 1,462.
4. Vistara – Experiences a 2% drop with 1,902 weekly flight departures.
5. Akasa Air – Weekly flight departures to increase by 5%, reaching 790 flights a week.
6. SpiceJet – Faces a 33% reduction compared to the previous year, with 2,132 weekly flights.

Additionally, several new airports are proposed for operations while some have not been scheduled for the winter of 2023.