Question : Passenger Facilities at Airports

(a) whether the Government has made any study regarding passengers carried by domestic airlines during the last six months as compared to the last year during the same period;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether there are still shortcomings in the provision of passenger facilities at the airports and also in the planes of the Government airlines, if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the merger of the two State-owned airlines in 2011 has resulted in the loss of thousands of crores of rupees to the national exchequer; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government on inquiry in the matter along with the outcome thereof?

The Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(Shri Jayant Sinha)

(a) & (b): Passenger carried in the year 2017 vis-a-vis Passenger carried in the year 2016 by domestic airlines during the period December 2016 to May 2017 are as follows:;
;

Month Passenger Carried Passenger carried in % of Growth
(In Lakhs) the corresponding ;
month of the previous;
year (In Lakhs);
December 2016 95.92 77.09 23.91;
January 2017 95.79 76.57 23.13;
February 2017 86.77 74.76 15.77;
March 2017 90.45 78.72 14.91;
April 2017 91.34 79.32 15.15;
May 2017 101.74 86.69 17.36;
;
(c): All necessary passenger facilities are provided by airport operators and airlines to the passengers. Improvement in the passenger facilities is a continuous process.
;

(d) and (e): Not only on account of merger of the two State - owned Airlines,Air India has been facing losses for the past many years on account of a multitude of factors which include:;

(i) High Fuel Prices;

(ii) High Interest Burden;

(iii) Increasing competition specially from low cost carriers;;

(iv) High Debt Equity Ratio ;

(v) High Airport user charges
;
(vi) Adverse Impact of exchange rate variation due to weakening of the Indian Rupee.