Shares of Indian airlines InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet surged after regulatory data showed that passenger growth jumped 136.6% last month as the government started to ease COVID-related travel restrictions.
India had halted air travel in March 2020 as it went into a lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. Domestic flights resumed in May 2020, but air travel since has had some limitations as the pandemic progressed.
Domestic airlines carried 6.7 million passengers in August, compared with 2.8 million in the year-earlier period, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
InterGlobe Aviation, which runs India’s largest airline IndiGo, extended gains to a fourth session and scaled a record high of ₹2,168.80 on Friday, while shares of SpiceJet rose up to 7.9% to ₹81.95, their highest level in two months.
Passenger load factor jumped 11.8% for IndiGo and 6.7% for SpiceJet in August from the prior month.
