City airport sees rise in domestic, international travel

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Kempegowda Interantional Airport (KIA) passenger traffic volumes registered over 102 per cent growth in domestic travel and about 85 per cent growth in international travel in October 2022, as compared to October 2019. The airport now boasts of pre-pandemic levels of footfall as the aviation sector continues to recover.

It recorded passenger volumes of 16.30 million in the current financial year until October 26. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin, and Pune were the top domestic routes contributing 44 per cent to traffic within the country. Dubai, Doha, Singapore, Frankfurt, and Male were the top international routes contributing to 54 per cent of the traffic outside of India.

Traffic revival got a boost due to the holiday and festive season. On October 21, which marked the beginning of the festive season with the Diwali weekend, 94,330 passengers travelled through the Bengaluru Airport.

Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport Limited said: “The aviation market witnessed robust demand in the last six months, and this has impacted the passenger volumes positively. Air travel had taken a significant hit due to the pandemic, but it is recovering now, and we have observed growth in recent months.

We are very optimistic that this upward trend will continue over the next few quarters. Bengaluru Airport is reporting good numbers due to its connectivity and being a preferred transfer hub. With the opening of Terminal 2, we will further consolidate our position as the gateway to South India.”