Urjith 2022

GRG School of Management Studies

Report On
COVID-19 And Its Impact On Aviation And Tourism In India

Submitted By
J.Jerositta - MBA
D.Harshavisali – MBA
Sri Rmakrishna college of arts and science
Coimabtore.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO TOPIC PAGE NO

1.1 Introduction 5

1.2 Impact On Airports 6

1.3 Impact On Airlines 8

1.4 Impact Of Aviation Employment 9-13

1.4.1 - Ground Staffing 9
1.4.2 – Cargo 9
1.4.3 – What About The Salary Cuts? 10
1.4.4 – But Flights Are Going Full? 10
1.4.5 – What Has The Government Done 11
To Boost The Bleeding Sector?
1.4.6 – Cargo Is The Big Winner 13
1.4.7 – GDP Contribution 13

2.1 Impact Of Epidemic Outbreak On Tourism 14

2.2 Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On 15

Tourism Economy
2.3 Post Lockdown Tourism Of India 17

3.1 Conclusion 18

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 TABLE OF FIGURES

S.NO FIGURES PAGE NO

1.4.2 Figure Of Impact On Employment 10

1.4.4 Figure Of Domestic And 11

International Traffic

1.4.5 Figure Of AAI Airports 12

1.4.7 Figure Of GDP Contribution Chart 14

2.2 Figure Of Correlation Between 16

Tourists

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 ABSTRACT
The impact of coronavirus pandemic on India has been largely disruptive in
terms of economic activity as well as a loss of human lives. Almost all the
sectors have been adversely affected as domestic demand and exports sharply
plummeted with some notable exceptions where high growth was observed.The
contribution of the Aviation Sector and Tourism to our GDP stands at about
2.4% and 9.2% respectively. The Tourism sector served approximately 43
million people in FY 18-19. Aviation and Tourism were the first industries that
were hit significantly by the pandemic. The common consensus seems to be that
COVID will hit these industries harder than 9/11 and the Financial Crisis of
2008. These two industries have been dealing with severe cash flow issues since
the start of the pandemic and are staring at a potential 38 million lay-offs, which
translates to 70 per cent of the total workforce. The impact is going to fall on
both, White and Blue collar jobs. According to IATO estimates, these industries
may incur losses of about 85 billion Rupees due to travel restrictions. The
Pandemic has also brought about a wave of innovation in the fields of
contactless boarding and travel technologies.
When the pandemic started spreading across the country, all scheduled
international flights and domestic passenger flights were suspended from March
23 and March 25, respectively. Scheduled domestic flights were restarted in a
limited manner from May 25.The effect of this disruption can be gauged by the
loss figures of India's two largest airlines. IndiGo incurred net losses of ₹2,884
crore and ₹1,194 crore in Q1 and Q2 of this fiscal respectively. SpiceJet posted
net losses of ₹600 crore and ₹112 crore in Q1 and Q2, respectively.
World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, 2020) predicted 100.8 million job
losses in the tourism sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is 31% of the
total jobs in this sector. This industry generated 10.3% of the global economy's
GDP, which is expected to reduce by 31% (WTTC, 2020; Benvenuto et al.,
2020). The Indian tourism industry is one of the significant contributors to GDP
as well as an employment provider (Annual Report 2019-20). In 2019, the
tourism industry contributed 6.9% of India's GDP and 8% of its total
employment (WTTC, 2020). This industry has healthy growth and is expected
to grow at an annual rate of 3.5% (WTTC, 2020)

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1.1 INTRODUCTION
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on global aviation as nearly all air
travel came to a halt in late March and April 2020. In Central Asia, virtually all
domestic and international air travel were suspended in an attempt to contain the
spread of COVID-19. This crisis provides an opportunity to reset the aviation
industry in CAREC countries through reforms, new strategies, and
restructurings. The study takes into consideration the gravity of the situation in
the region and offers some recommendations for dealing with and beyond the
crisis.
Indian Aviation Industry is one of the fastest- growing industries in the world
and has the 3rd largest aviation market domestically in the world. Globally,
predicting that India’s aviation Industry will overtake the United Kingdom to
become the 3rd largest aviation market by 2024. High economic growth and an
increase in low-for-cost carriers cater to India’s middle-class population since
the last decade, which depicts a massive opportunity for India’s aviation market.
An increase in air traffic has led the Govt. of India to increase and improve the
airports’ infrastructure and its facilities and services. As of year 2020, India has
153 operational airports, and by 2040, it is estimated by the Civil Aviation
Ministry that India would have 190-200 operational airports.
The outbreak of COVID-19 ceased flight operations worldwide, dropping the
number of passengers to just over 1.7 billion resulting in a loss of 61% of the
passenger traffic. Civil Aviation Ministry ceased international flights with effect
from 23rd March 2020 and domestic flights from 25th March, 2020, subject to
certain exceptions such as cargo flights and medical evacuation flights.
India’s domestic and international passenger traffic reduced at a CAGR of -
9.02% and -28.64%, respectively, from the fiscal year 2015-2016 to 2020-21,
due to COVID-19-related restrictions on flights in 2020-2021. In 2020-21,
airports in India registered a reduction of 61.7% from 2019-20. Between 2015-
16 and 2020-21, freight traffic declined at a CAGR of -1.77%.
The Coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis has posed a grave survival issue before the
aviation sector in the world during the past year. As per an estimate by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), gross passenger operating
revenue loss stands at 370 billion Dollars during the past year. According to
International Air Transport Association (IATA), There was a significant drop of
about 60 per cent in total number of passengers globally. Further, the aviation
sector is the airline industry is anticipated to lose 118.5 billion dollars.
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According to CRISIL, passenger traffic at airports dropped significantly at a
rate of 65 to 70% in fiscal year of 2021 with around 110 to 120 million,
parallelly to fiscal 2009 to 2010 levels, due to COVID-related restrictions.
However, passenger traffic in 2022 fiscal year is estimated to project recovery
between 260 to 280 million. Recovery will be led by increase in air travelling
post Covid- 19 and therefore, in near future travel at airports in India in fiscal
year 2025 will be between 450 to 480 million.
1.2 IMPACT ON AIRPORTS
Airports have also been equally hit by COVID 19, which has caused a loss of
revenue to the Indian civil aviation sector. The Airports Authority of India
(AAI) had reported a fall of 92 percent in its revenue from Rs 2,973 crore
during the months of April-June 2019 to Rs. 239 crores during the following
period in 2020.
Restricted movement of people, night curfews, and different lockdown norms
have contributed to passengers’ decline in air travel. Due to COVID,19, the
financial cycle of the aviation sector had been affected. Both aviation and
tourism sectors are gravely hit due to which, Airports are generating less
revenue as they are reliant on flight operations. The reduction in number of
passengers across AAI airports saw a major fall from 14.5 million in January
2020 to 27,687 in April 2020. After the removal of cubs and restrictions post
first phase of COVID,19 and public mobility resumed picking up with 2.97
million footfalls in August 2020. But it was again gravely affected by the
second wave.
AAI has incurred losses for the first time since its inception due to decrease in
air traffic at various airports. There was a 65 per cent decline in its revenue in
fiscal year of 2021 which fell from Rs. 12,837 crores to Rs. 4,482 crores leading
to a loss of Rs.2,814 crores as compared to a profit of Rs. 1,985 crores.
Over 95% of all revenue are generated from aeronautical and non-aeronautical
services by the airports. As air traffic declines, airport’s ability to collect
charges decreases proportionally. This crisis poses a great challenge at the
airport’s financial viability with little flexibility in operating expenditure
coupled with capital costs that are fixed. Principal users- airlines, passengers,
commercial business presents a grave challenge for regulators in providing
revenues to airports on current business models without imposing any additional
financial burden on them. Airport’s must must make difficult decisions in some
cases in fairly and equitably reallocating airport assets like real estate
infrastructure and slots.
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During this challenging period of COVID-19, better use of technology will help
in improving operating efficiency and also in monetise assets. Touchless Check-
ins, RFID bag tags, contactless and paperless immigration and boarding passes
etc. can largely obviate the necessity for large passenger squares and check in
areas and need fewer commercial spaces which will enhance asset productivity
and effectiveness in managing life-cycle costs. A proper balance between
resilience and efficiency has to struck.
Capacity has been either been built upfront or being created with significant
costs in some airports. The long-term growth remains strong in air markets like
India but next 3 to 4 years will pose grave challenges for airport owners and
investors to monetise assets or repurpose them to make shareholder value.
Competition from newer asset – lighter airports may pose an extra challenge on
asset rebalancing and profitability. In some cases, competition from newer
asset-light airports may pose an extra challenge on asset rebalancing and
profitability.
In this context, ACI World forecasted that the airport industry was expected to
make around 188 million dollars in 2020 before the coronavirus outbreak. The
effect of the Covid-19 on airport revenues reduced to 125 billion dollars from
airport revenues in 2020. Compared to the projected revenue forecast in pre-
covid period., there is a drop of 66.3 per cent Because of the effect of the
COVID-19 crisis on revenues, it has been estimated that the airport industry
will face a collective loss of over 94 billion dollars globally by the end of 2021.
The airport revenue expectations are cut half (-50.0%) compared to the
projected baseline (-48.1% compared to 2019 level).
As per the rating agency, Moody estimates that the recovery of Indian airports,
especially those undergoing debt-funded expansion plans, are pushed back
because of the consequent second wave of covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns.
Even Though air traffic is anticipated to surge domestically and internationally
between October 2021 and March 2022, Moody’s have said that disruption
caused by the second wave of Covid-19 would likely cause low air traffic and
revenue in fiscal year of 2022 and potentially in 2023 fiscal year as well relative
to the earlier forecasts.
Rating agencies have lowered the rating of Delhi International Airport to a B1
rating, Fitch Ratings lowered it to BB This denotes speculative and high risk,
which states that the airports will need additional debt to for finishing their
expansion plans thanks to decreasing operating revenue flow. Moody’s predict
that increase in India’s Vaccination rates would be a key driver for the recovery
of airports
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GMR Infrastructure Limited, which operates the Delhi and the Hyderabad
airport, reports that for the quarter which ended in December 31 2020, the
total/consolidated loss widened to Rs. 1120.51 crores.

Crisil Ratings quoted that the second wave will hinder the revival process and
momentum of international traffic. Given this backdrop, it is expected that air
traffic volume this in the present fiscal year will be around 60 per cent of fiscal
year 2020 level. And recovery to pre pandemic level will only happen by the
fourth quarter of 2023 fiscal year.
1.3 IMPACT ON AIRLINES
With all the distressing circumstances, it is good to see that Indian airlines have
survival instinct with no Indian airline being grounded. The story of persistence
in surviving by the aviation sector in India is unique and remarkable.
Introduction of innovative/new strategies by the Govt has helped in great deal to
preserve this sector to a significant extent. Airlines were encouraged to utilise
their fleet for the movement of Cargo during the lockdown period. For the
movement of freighters, international borders remained open. Evacuation flights
and transport of essential goods and medicine have generated revenue and kept
the aircraft airworthy. COVID 19 has also seen the emergence of regional
airlines enhancing aerial connectivity. Progressive markets like India have
already created the capacity to fulfil consistently collective demand for airways
in the last two decades.
Not only all negative but few positive effects of pandemic disruption are noticed
in the aviation industry. The aviation sector comprising of airports and airline
companies have adopted novel solutions that should help brace themselves from
the distressing impacts. For example, almost 90 percent of web check-in is
achieved from a mere 10 percent, pre-Covid level. Touch- free baggage drop,
least contact security checks, continuous and uninterrupted movement of
passengers through Digi- Yatra shall help improve operational efficiency in the
sector. COVID 19 has also seen the emergence of regional airlines enhancing
aerial connectivity. With the introduction of new routes under the Regional
Connectivity Scheme, the Govt has opened new opportunities to sustain the
airlines. In March 2021, the Ministry has proposed 392 routes under the UDAN
4.1 bidding process. SpiceJet had initiated seaplane services but has suspended
the services until September 2021.
Despite all the issues, the Government is striving to develop aviation
infrastructure even amidst the COVID period. Upbeat private investments, high
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demands related to airports, opening regional airports, big domestic markets are
drivers for a robust outlook. The domestic passenger demands are anticipated to
reach pre- covid levels with all the recovery prospects during 2 to 3 years in
fiscal years 2023. Whereas international demand recovery is expected to be
relatively slower, taking 3 to 4 years and likely to reach its pre- covid levels by
fiscal year 2024.
CAPA Centre for Aviation, in its report ‘Key Trends in Indian Aviation in
FY2022: Impact of Second Wave’, has quoted, “Most Indian airlines were
already very vulnerable prior to COVID, with weak balance sheets and poor
liquidity. COVID inflicted massive losses and an increasing debt burden on
carriers that were structurally ill-equipped to absorb this impact.“
1.4 IMPACT OF AVIATION EMPLOYMENT
NEW DELHI: Around 7,900 employees in India's aviation sector have lost jobs
due to the pandemic in the last one year, VK Singh, minister of state for civil
aviation, informed the Parliament on Friday.
"Total number of employees of domestic carriers has declined from around
74,800 as on 31 Mar 2020 to around 66,900 as on 31 Mar 2021, a decline of
over 7,900 employees," he said.
1.4.1GROUND STAFFING
Total number of employees in ground handling has declined by 13,300 in the
same period. The workforce is down from around 38,330 as on 31 Mar 2020 to
around 25,040 as on 31 Mar 2021.
1.4.2 CARGO
Cargo, however, has seen an increase. The total number of employees in cargo
has increased from around 9,550 as on 31 March 2020 to around 9,930 as on 31
March 2021, an increase of around 380 employees.

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 1.4.2.Figure Of Impact on Employment
1.4.3.WHAT ABOUT SALARY CUTS?
While no salary cuts have been implemented for Air India employees drawing
salaries less than Rs 25,000 per month, pilots have seen a reduction of flying
allowances, subject to a minimum 20 hours flying in a month. For pilots in Air
India Express, there has been a 40% reduction in allowances of pilots which
include special pay, domestic layover allowance, quick return allowance, check
allowance, instructor allowance and examiner allowance. Flying allowance has
also seen a steep 35% reduction. All cabin crew have seen a 20 per cent
reduction in their domestic layover allowance For Alliance Air Aviation,
commanders and co-pilots have seen a reduction in flying allowance, while
expat pilots have had to undergo a 40 per cent salary cut. Ground staff has seen
their salaries decline by 5 per cent. Indigo: During the calendar year 2021,
paycuts ranging from 2.5% to 48% were implemented for employees in
managerial levels and above, most of which have already been restored by now.
There was no impact on the salary of employee below managerial level. Air
Asia: Salary cuts were implemented for employees drawing salary higher than
Rs 50,000 per month. The salary cuts have now been removed with effect from
October 2021 and regular salaries have been restored.
1.4.4BUT FLIGHTS ARE GOING FULL?
According to data made available by the aviation regulator Directorate General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA), total passengers carried by domestic airlines has
grown 26% on year with over 6.20 crore being carried from January to October
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2021 as against over 4.93 crore in the same period a year ago. Since October 18,
2021 scheduled carriers have been allowed to operate up to 100 per cent of their
pre-COVID-19 capacity on domestic routes after the government suspended a
capacity cap imposed on them following the resumption of flights in May 2020
after a two-month countrywide lockdown.

1.4.4.Figure of Domestic and International Traffic

1.4.5 WHAT HAS THE GOVERNMENT DONE TO BOOST THE
BLEEDING SECTOR?
Despite the buoyancy in traffic numbers, Indian airlines are expected to incur
losses worth $3.5-4 billion, excluding any adjustments, in this financial year,
aviation consultancy firm Capa India has said. The carriers would need
continuous flow of capital, including fund infusion of $1 billion during the
October-March period, to overcome these losses. Moreover, the rising jet fuel
prices will only add to the burden and is likely to prevent airlines from breaking
even or reporting a profit during the December quarter, the consultancy firm
said. CAPA India had earlier forecast Indian airlines to fly between 8 crore to
9.5 crore passengers domestically in the current financial year ending March
2022. While it has maintained this forecast, it now sees the actual figure to be
closer to the upper end of the range, versus the lower end, which it had expected
earlier. In 2021, the government allowed airlines to access funds through
emergency credit guarantee loan scheme introduced by the finance ministry in
the aftermath of the pandemic. The scheme lets airlines borrow a certain amount
from their banks with a government guarantee backing the loan.

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 1.4.5 .Figure of AAI Airports
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also reduced the rate of interest it
charges airlines on delayed airline payments from 12% to 10%. The
Government has taken several steps to strengthen the aviation industry keeping
in view the safety and health of the passengers, said Singh in parliament. Some
of the steps taken include
(1) Adoption of Covid protocols, use of protective gear, contact-less passenger
handling processes like 100% online check-in, submission of self declaration
forms and self baggage drop etc.
(2) Benefits under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 3.0
extended to civil aviation sector.
(3) Exclusive air-links or ''Air Bubbles'' have been established with 31
countries.
(4) AAI has taken up development of new airports and expansion/upgradation
of existing airports at around Rs 25,000 crores in the next 4-5 years which
includes expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals,
expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation
Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks etc.
(5) Three Public Private Partnership (PPP) airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and
Bengaluru have undertaken major expansion plan
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(6) Government of India (GoI) has accorded ''in-principle'' approval for setting
up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country.
(7)A conducive aircraft leasing and financing environment has been enabled.
(8) The domestic capacity of the Airlines has been restored to full effect from
18 October 2021, as in pre-Covid times.
1.4.6 CARGO IS THE BIG WINNER
Despite the pandemic, cargo is expected to recover to above pre-COVID levels.
Domestic cargo is expected to increase by 43.0% year-on-year in FY2022 to
1,361,615 tonnes while international cargo is projected to grow 35.9% year-on-
year to 2,068,224 tonnes, noted Capa.
1.4.7 GDP CONTRIBUTION
India is set to surpass UK and become the third largest aviation market by 2024
(1)In FY20, air passenger traffic stood at 341.05 million.
(2)Contribution of travel and tourism to India’s GDP increased to US$ 247.30
billion in 2018 from US$ 234.03 billion in 2017. The contribution is forecast to
reach US$ 492.21 billion by 2028F.
(3)Business and leisure travel will boost growth.
(4)Spending on business travel increased to US$ 234.44 billion in 2018 from
US$ 201.71 billion in 2017, while that on leisure travel increased to US$ 12.86
billion in 2018 from US$ 11.61 billion in 2017.
(5)The expenditure of Indian travellers is expected to touch Rs 9.5 lakh crore
(US$ 136 billion) by 2021.

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 1.4.7. Figure of GDP Contribution Chart
2.1 IMPACT OF EPIDEMIC OUTBREAK ON TOURISM
Global tourism is affected by many types of disruptive events, such as terrorist
attacks like 9/11, epidemic outbreaks like SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, Ebola,
Swine flu, etc. in the past (Wen et al., 2020). However, the recent epidemic
outbreak (COVID-19) originated from Wuhan, China has severely impacted
almost every industry, including Tourism worldwide (Yeh, 2020). The virus
spread to all continents through air transport and still propagates infection
exponentially (Nicolaides et al., 2020). To contain the spread, many countries
completely/partially close their boarder and cancelled all flights, and events
including sports, entertainment, pilgrimages, conferences etc. UNWTO (2020)
estimated that international tourists would decline by 1%–3% compared to 2019
rather than the forecasted 3%–4% growth. As a result, global tourism has
slowed down significantly. The number of international flights dropping by
more than half following the tourism industry temporarily laid off half of their
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workforce (Gössling et al., 2020). The World Travel & Tourism Council
predicts a tourism-related loss of up to US$ 2.1 trillion in 2020 and up to 75
million jobs (WTTC, 2020).
The travel industry, which includes airlines, hotels and restaurants, will shrink
by 50% in 2020, which would mean a significant loss of jobs and revenue.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airlines
worldwide are expected to lose a record of $84 billion in 2020, more than three
times the loss made during the Global Financial Crisis (The World Economic
Forum, 2020). Most of the airlines are undergrounded. Hotels are being closed
due to fewer tourists and many five-star hotels turning into quarantine facilities.
Most restaurateurs see operating costs rising further because of social
distancing, hygiene, and sanitation-related costs. Therefore, sustaining during
this crisis is a challenging task for the tourism industry.
2.2 IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON TOURISM
ECONOMY
The foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism is one of the major revenue
source for the Government of India. The FEE is the revenue generated by
inbound foreign tourists, and decrease in foreign tourists’ number leads to
reduce FEE. The entire world is affected by COVID-19, including India.
Following the border closure, cancellation of international flights, and a series
of lockdowns, the tourist’s arrival rate in India has been highly affected. To
show the impact of COVID-19 on FEE, a comparative analysis has been done.
Here, it has assumed that the effect of COVID-19 will remain until next year.
The FEE depends on the arrival of the number of tourists and exchange rate. To
analyse the impact, the monthly data related to number of tourists, FEE from
tourism and exchange rate are collected from 31st January 1993 to 31st March
2020 from CMIE (economicoutlook, 2020).
The scatter plot (Figure 6) describes the high correlation between foreign
tourists’ arrival and foreign exchange earnings, and the calculated correlation
coefficient is 0.9718. It signifies that both are highly correlated. Similarly,
Figure 7 depicts the correlation between exchange rate earnings and foreign
exchange earnings, and the calculated correlation coefficient is 0.8570. This
signifies that both are highly correlated. Thus, the arrival of the number of
foreign tourists and the exchange rate are taken as input to predict the FEE and
to measure the impact of COVID-19.
Correlation between the number of tourists arrived and foreign exchange
earnings.
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 2.2 – Figure of correlation between tourists

Due to Corona virus outbreak, the industry has seen a whirl of international and
domestic cancellations. There has been a depletion in the number of domestic
travellers as people with business purpose or emerging essentials are only
travelling. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has 3691 sites registered
with it, of which 38 are world heritage sites. As per information provided by the
ASI the total revenue from ticketed monuments was ₹247.89 crore in FY18,
₹302.34 in FY19 and ₹277.78 crore in FY20 (January – April). If the scenario
doesn’t change by May, then the domestic travel is at its peak because of the
summer vacations, employment may then become a concern.
The Covid-19 outbreak has also started showing its impact on the domestic
tourism sector and summer bookings to leisure destinations like Rajasthan and
the hills. Summer travel is the peak travel in India. Considering that most
domestic travellers book their flight tickets 2-3 weeks before the travel date, the
travel companies saw a more than 30% drop in domestic travel this summer
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compared with last year. Maximum impacted summer destinations are Leh,
Guwahati, Coimbatore, Srinagar and Amritsar where more than 40% drop has
been recorded. This is after airline fare drop by 20% for domestic routes.
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has also endorse the similar concern
as the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) has been found to be downcast by about
67% yearly in January – March quarter, while local tourists incise a much lower
figure by about 40%. FTA in February, 2020 has dropped by 9.3% month-on-
month and 7% year-on-year, according to government data. The situation got
unpleasant as India announced suspension of all tourist visas till April 15 in a
bid to contain the spread of the virus. Due to restrictions, loss of tourists in India
were seen in 2020 comparatively to Loss of Tourists in India were seen in 2020
comparatively to last 5 years.
The Indian tourism and hospitality industry are staring at a likely job loss of
around 38 million, which is 70% of the total workforce due to the pandemic. If
this shift resume as the Covid-19 destruction progresses, it will obstruct nation
employment
According to the data available with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, nearly 585
international flights have been cancelled to and from India between February 1
to March 6 because of the outbreak of coronavirus. Compared to last year,
Airfare in the popular domestic routes has been reduced by 20-25% and airfares
are expected to remain subdued for summer season as well. Cash reserves of
airline companies are running low and more are almost at the edge of
bankruptcy.
According to Ministry of Civil Aviation, India is observing a 25% to 30% fall in
inbound international visitors to the country in the set of novel coronavirus
endorse
2.3 POST LOCKDOWN TOURISM OF INDIA
The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed the way of live. Now that the reduction
at the state borders have been uplifted tourism may observe some growth. Many
companies have acknowledged their staff to work from home, others are
providing a change of place in the form of working from home stays. Many big
tourism and hospitality brands such as Airbnb, Vista are jumping in with the
aptitude of homestays as an alternative universe during the pandemic. As the
homestays are becoming popular workstations during the pandemic, the usual
guidelines conjunction with accurate sanitization and face cover are being
followed for homestays as well. The Hotels are potentially assured with the
safety of the guests is definite. At almost every hotel standard such as
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sterilization, use of personal protective apparatus by the staff in both F&B and
housekeeping department. Social distancing has become a new normal for the
present generation. The restaurants are also making sure of the safety measures
such as keyless entry, online check-in, and check-out, contact – less valet for
parking to ensure minimal proximity with people from the time they visit, and
till the time they leave the place.
The airlines and the aviation business are also executing sanctuary protocol for
the travellers safety. The airlines and aviation business in India are much
advanced when it comes to infrastructural development and automation. The
airports are functioning with smart security resolutions, computerized traveller
screening systems, automated tray retrieval, and RFID tagged trays at the
checkpoint screening to reducewait time for people and expand passenger
experience at security checkpoints. The government of India has come up with
new initiatives called Digi Yatra platform which is an industry-led initiative
coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and is in line with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s Digital India’s vision.
Digi Yatra enables passengers to process entry and exits based on facial
recognition systems at various checkpoints, security check – in, and boarding
etc. Digi Yatra will ease travel and identity checks at multiple points for air
travellers. The Indian railways have done refinement like hands- free amenities
coppercoated handrails, and latch plasma air purification, and titanium dioxide
coating for minimizing restraint. The COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way
for meaningful innovation and transformation to be accelerated in the railways
and the aviation business. The pandemic has entail the airlines and the railways
to review their business top-down, bottom-up, and to modify their operations
and processes for the better. The government of India is commencing various
campaigns to woo domestic tourists.
(1)The Indian state of Odisha has launched a road campaign amid Covid-19.
The road campaigns aim at letting the tourists from nearby States to explore
various destinations in Odisha.
(2)The residents in Goa, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and certain places in
Karnataka and Maharashtra are offering rented houses for tourists from one
week to two months.
3.1 CONCLUSION
The aftermath of COVID 19 on the aviation sector can foresee airlines into
bankruptcy due to their failure to pay lease rentals interlinked with air traffic.
With practically no financial aid to the aviation sector, survival may seem tough
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for the industry. The demand for air travel may decrease due to various
restrictions, and there may be a massive structural change in demand. Moody’s
analysis suggests that airports in the expansion process might be pushed back
through debt funding due to the 2nd wave and different lockdown norms.
Various reports and analyses by CAPA strongly suggest that the only Indian
airline to smooth survival will be Indigo during the COVID 19 times. However,
times look tough for SpiceJet even though in a recent case (Wilmington Trust
SP Services (Dublin) Ltd v SpiceJet Ltd [2021] EWHC 1117 (Comm)), the
English Court granted relief to SpiceJet on account of default payment of lease
rent even though the Lease had a hell or high water clause which obligated
SpiceJet to pay the rent and the payment shall be absolute and unconditional
and shall not be affected or reduced by any circumstances will not be affected or
reduced by any circumstances”.
In accordance with the research done by Morgan Stanley, it is estimated that the
Indian aviation sector will bounce back towards the year-end and it is
anticipated to rule the skies in the Fiscal Year 2022. However, the big question
that remains unanswered is what happens if the third wave hits the aviation
sector and how difficult will it be to travel by again. Also, DGCA reports
suggest that air travel in June was 47% higher than in May, giving the industry a
silver lining.
IndiGo will be the only Indian carrier with a smooth survival due to its strong
balance sheet. In contrast, Vistara has seen an increase in leisure travel post the
vaccination drive. With the rebirth of Jet Airways, the aviation sector sees new
hopes amidst the COVID 19.
The tourism sector has enormously affected by the wide-spread of COVID-19
and may remain for a longer time. This research paper has examined the greater
impact that is being created by the virus on tourism and showcase the ultimate
damage it created on the economy of the country and the globe too at the same
time. The Coronavirus has also enabled the tourism industry to face the huge
thread as well as the economic slowdown is seen. Due to this reason it is seen to
be establishing an impact on the tourism industry. Though the measurements
were undertaken, but they are seen to be not fruitful for prohibiting the
spreading of coronavirus. Travel and tourism companies will have to recuperate
the trust and confidence of people in the recovery period to travel again after the
pandemic. Unlike the other sectors, the tourism sector relies heavily on trust
and thus will take a longer time to return to routine in the recovery period
because tourists need to ensure that the situation is safe and secure before they
step out to travel again.
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 REFERENCE
(1) Dogra, T. (2020). Impact of Covid-19 on The Tourism Industry in India.
International Journal of Advanced Research, DOI: 10.21474/
IJAR01/12006; DOI URL: http://DX.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/12006;
November
(2) Jaipuria, S., Parida, R., & Ray, P. (2021); The Impact Of Covid-19 on
Tourism Sector in India; Recreation Research, 46, 245-260;
https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1846971
(3) Patel, P., Sharma, J., Kharoliwal, S., & Khemariya, P. (2020). The Effects
of Novel Corona Virus (Covid-19) in the Tourism Industry in India.
International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT);
9(05).

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