Covid fluctuations determined Andhra Pradesh's air passenger traffic in last 2 years

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on almost every sector in the last two years including the aviation industry.
The new protocols, mobility restrictions and testing criteria posed several challenges to the fliers, disrupting their itineraries.

As per an analysis done based on domestic air passenger data from the Airports Authority of India by ‘India Data Portal’, an open data-driven initiative of the Bharati Institute of Public Policy of the Indian School of Business (ISB), the highs and lows in the air traffic in Andhra Pradesh since the onset of the pandemic is in tandem with the extent of the Covid-19 transmission in the community at a particular time.The air traffic has more than doubled at the airports in Andhra Pradesh between May-August 2021 compared to the corresponding period last year.
According to aviation industry experts, the recent growth is attributed to the decreasing Covid-19 infections, improving vaccination coverage and easing restrictions.
For instance, Andhra Pradesh had only some 14,600 fliers during the first wave in May 2020. This increased to 79,000 in May 2021 despite the unprecedented infection numbers during the peak of the second wave during this month. It further touched the 2.9 lakh mark in August 2021 compared to 1.12 lakh passenger footfall at the airports in the state, as per the ‘India Data Portal’ analysis.
From nose-diving to almost zero levels in April 2020, Andhra Pradesh started to witness a gradual turnaround in terms of air traffic ever since the restrictions were eased as part of the unlocking process that began in June 2020. Andhra Pradesh first breached the daily 10,000 Covid-19 case milestone on July 29, 2020.
However, the daily infection numbers quickly plateaued by September-end. The state further managed to fully flatten the curve during the first wave by January-February 2021. Corresponding with the lowest infection numbers, the air traffic increased to 3.5 lakh in January 2021 and 3 lakh each in February and March.
With the emergence of the second wave, the domestic throughput dipped to 2.2 lakh in April. It further plunged to 79,000 in May 2021- the month which forced the state’s health system to stretch beyond its breaking point.
Again, with the improving conditions, there has been a sharp increase in the passenger footfalls in the last few months. However, it is yet to reach the pre-Covid levels.
Amid the fears over the spread of the new variant Omicron, those who booked tickets are now going for cancellations,” said president of Tours and Travel Association of Andhra Pradesh, K Vijay Mohan.