Pre-COVID-19 level normalcy to return next year: Civil Aviation Min Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri expressed confidence on Friday, June 4, dismissing the predictions of various airline firms and aviation experts that normalcy in the aviation sector would return in 2023. He believes it will happen much sooner. Puri stated that Indian aviation will return to normalcy in 2022 once all of the country's citizens will be immunized.

Hardeep Singh Puri expects normalcy within 2021

Puri noted, "We respect experts' opinions. But in pre-COVID level 4 lakh passengers used to travel in a day. When we started domestic civil aviation on May 25, 2020, on day one there were 30,000 passengers, which increased to 3 lakh 13 thousand till the second wave hit our country. It may have touched four lakh passengers per day and normalcy may have returned but I believe that normalcy will be returned by 2021 after all Indians are vaccinated."

The airline sector has been severely impacted by the pandemic and the COVID second wave, and passenger load factors have reached new lows. The Union Minister emphasized and presented data on the COVID positive rate in Delhi.

Aviation will touch 4 lakh passengers per day soon 

Union Minister added, "When the second wave came and this passenger traffic came down to 40,000 last week. On Thursday it increased to 80,000 and later it will continue to increase with the decline in Coronavirus cases. Delhi's positivity rate is 0.6% and recovery rate is also 90-92% and the mortality rate is also low. This means if you test more than 100 people you only find one person positive." 

Puri has strongly supported relaxing limitations in the aviation sector while the virus is being studied. Puri opined, "I believe before the second wave of COVID, the aviation sector was about to touch 4 lakh passengers a day as we handled 3 lakh 13 thousand passengers before the second wave starts."

The government has issued instructions in response to the abrupt increase of COVID-19 cases in the second wave, as well as a reduction in passenger numbers and occupancy by cutting existing capacity from 80% to 50%.

(with inputs from ANI)

Picture Credit: PTI