Air traffic Railways traffic, cargo and port cargo grew in July shows resilience of Indian Economy

NEW DELHI : The domestic air passenger traffic in India experienced a 7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in July 2024, reaching 1.30 crore passengers, according to the data by Director General of Civil Aviation.

The data pointed out that this growth follows a period of slowed expansion over the previous nine months, primarily due to elevated airfares and limited capacity additions, which were a result of several aircraft being grounded.

However, since April 2024, the domestic air traffic growth has regained momentum. Despite this recovery, air travel in July 2024 was notably affected by a higher number of flight rescheduling caused by adverse weather conditions and IT-related issues, leading to disruptions in air travel.

In addition to the developments in air travel, the country also witnessed growth in cargo handling and rail freight.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the major Indian government ports handled a total of 70.1 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in July 2024, marking a 7 per cent increase YoY. This increase in cargo handling indicates a positive trend in the country’s trade and logistics sectors.

Furthermore, according to the data by Ministry of Railways, it highlighted that the Indian Railways recorded a total freight traffic of 129.6 MMT in July 2024, registering a 4.7 per cent growth YoY.

According to the experts, the growth in freight traffic was partly driven by the operationalization of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and the partial completion of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC).

They also noted that these two dedicated freight corridors are now responsible for handling approximately 10 per cent of the total freight carried on the Indian Railway network, significantly improving the turnaround time of freight trains and enhancing the overall efficiency of the railway freight system.