IndiGo, the largest airline in India, was recovering well till a deadly second wave led to passengers dwindling by almost 80%, from 5.35 Mn in March 2021 to 1.16 Mn in May 2021. Along with passenger apprehension, government restrictions also capped business recovery in the absence of international operations.
Market trends suggested pent-up demand for local, authentic, sustainable, solo and contactless travel, albeit with limited domestic options. So, IndiGo launched 5 new destinations, the non-metro towns Kanpur, Bareilly, Darbhanga, Jabalpur, Gwalior and 112 new connections, and co-opted India's Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to participate in these regional launches as...