Airline stocks rise as domestic passenger traffic grows in July

New Delhi: Airline stocks on Tuesday surged as much as 3 per cent in morning trade after official data showed that domestic passenger traffic grew 21 per cent in July as compared to the year-ago month.

According to the data, domestic airlines carried 115.57 lakh passengers in July this year.

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation on Tuesday opened at Rs 1,075, then gained further ground and touched a high of Rs 1,106, up 1.86 per cent over the previous close.

SpiceJet stock also opened on a strong note and touched a high of Rs 87.20, up 3.01 per cent over its last close.

Shares of Jet Airways however fell nearly 4 per cent in morning trade after reports surfaced that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has opened a preliminary inquiry into the carrier.

Shares of Jet Airways opened on a weak note at Rs 297.80, then fell to a low of Rs 289.95, down 3.73 per cent over its previous closing price.

Budget carrier IndiGo continued to be the largest player with a market share of 42.1 per cent while that of national carrier Air India stood at 12.4 per cent in July.

Last month, the market share of SpiceJet and GoAir stood at 12.3 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively. Jet Airways garnered a market share of 13.6 per cent in July.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and has been registering double-digit growth for more than three years.