Indigo, SpiceJet stocks takeoff as regular international flights to resume after two years

• The government has announced the resumption of all international scheduled commercial flights that were banned because of COVID-19 from March 27.
• Following the development, shares of the airline companies flew high as now the airlines will be able to operate with almost full capacity.
• This may result in lowering of airfares on some international routes.

After two long years of COVID-19 restrictions, the Indian government has finally lifted the ban on all international flights relieving airline companies to now work with full capacity. Flights will resume, like the pre-pandemic period, from March 27.

Scheduled international flight services were suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic. However, special flights have been operating between India and 37 countries since July 2020 under air bubble arrangements.

“After having recognised the increased vaccination coverage across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the Government of India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India from 27.03.2022, i.e. start of Summer Schedule 2022," read a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The development has come as good news for airline companies that were losing out on revenues because of restricted operations of flights.

Shares of publicly listed airlines Indigo and SpiceJet surged more than 5% each on Wednesday on the excitement. This comes as relief for the sector that is reeling from high fuel prices for the aircraft and restricted travel across the world.

"This is great news for all travelers and the industry, especially before the peak summer season. The demand for international travel is picking up in India and there has been a significant uptick in travel search queries for popular international destinations like Australia, Sri Lanka, US & UK. Travel search queries from India for Australian cities like Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney have jumped 15-20% this month. We are seeing a trend of travelers now eager to book long-haul destinations, fuelled by international borders reopening and relaxation of rules across the globe. Resumption of international commercial flights will also regularise the demand-supply balance resulting in lower international airfares,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and group CEO of ixigo.

“...announcement to resume international passenger flights is a welcome move for domestic and international travellers who have been waiting for a long time to make travel plans. We are pleased that these measures will once again give a big boost to foreign tourism in the country,” said Ankush Nijhawan, joint managing director, TBO TEK, an online travel agency.

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