New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI): A sharp fall in passenger traffic on account of higher fares has led to a substantial decline in the number of flights operated by domestic carriers between March and November.

The number of flights plying each week fell to 9,635 this month from 10,922 in March, according to latest official figures.

The slowdown in the domestic aviation sector, which registered an estimated combined loss of Rs 4,000 crore in 2007-08, led to a 30 per cent shortfall in passenger traffic at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and a drop of 32 per cent at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

Besides the high fuel costs, the airline industry is also suffering from the weakening of the rupee against the dollar as airlines make substantial payments in dollars for several goods and services as also for the foreign crew they hire.