SpiceJet, InterGlobe Aviation rally up to 12% as govt lifts cap on domestic flights to 80% of pre-Covid levels

Shares of aviation majors including SpiceJet and InterGlobe Aviation rallied up to 12 per cent in Friday’s early trade after the cap on the number of domestic flights that domestic airlines are permitted to operate was increased from 70 per cent to 80 per cent of their pre-Covid levels.

SpiceJet was up 11.86 per cent at Rs 91 at around 9.45 am (IST), while InterGlobe Aviation traded 4.19 per cent higher at Rs 1,713.35. On the other hand, the benchmark BSE Sensex was up 0.52 per cent at 44,863.

Earlier, the government had said on November 11 that the Indian airlines can operate up to 70 per cent of their pre-Covid domestic passenger flights due to the prevailing demand amid the coronavirus situation.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted on Thursday, “Domestic operations recommenced with 30K passengers on 25 May & have now touched a high of 2.52 lakhs on 30 Nov 2020.”

“Ministry of Civil Aviation is now allowing domestic carriers to increase their operations from existing 70% to 80% of pre-Covid approved capacity,” he stated.

The ministry had resumed scheduled domestic passenger services from May 25, after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus lockdown.

However, the airlines were allowed to operate not more than 33 per cent of their pre-Covid domestic flights.

On June 26, this was increased to 45 per cent and on September 2, it was further increased to 60 per cent. On November 11, it was increased to 70 per cent.