10.10 lakh passengers from region
The government reports roughly 10.10 lakh passengers have travelled to India from the West Asia region since Feb. 28 despite the conflict, indicating continued travel flows even as inbound tourism softens. (tribuneindia.com)
India said about 10.10 lakh passengers have travelled to India from West Asia since February 28, even as the conflict has disrupted flights across the region. (tribuneindia.com) The figure came in a government update issued on April 16 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which said New Delhi was tracking the crisis across aviation, ports, fuel supply and support for Indians abroad. (publicnow.com) That same update said the Embassy of India in Iran had helped 2,348 Indian nationals move via Armenia and Azerbaijan for onward travel to India. (publicnow.com) The passenger total has climbed quickly in official briefings this month: the government said around 6.49 lakh passengers had travelled to India from the region by April 3, and more than 10 lakh by April 16. (publicnow.com 1) (publicnow.com 2) The travel flow has held up even as aviation networks have been strained. On April 7, a civil aviation official said Indian carriers had cancelled more than 10,000 flights since the conflict began on February 28. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The same April 7 briefing said operations to West Asia had dropped by nearly 70% as airspace closures and restrictions hit routes through countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. (cnbctv18.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Industry groups say the pressure is showing up elsewhere. A PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry report released April 16 estimated a 15% to 20% drop in inbound tourist traffic and a net aviation industry loss of Rs 18,000 crore. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The government’s message has been that essential systems are still functioning. Its April 16 note said port operations were normal, domestic liquefied petroleum gas supply had been prioritized, and no distributor dry-outs had been reported. (publicnow.com) So the picture is split: large numbers of people are still getting back to India from West Asia, but they are doing so through a region where flight schedules, tourism demand and airline economics have all been hit since late February. (tribuneindia.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
