BENGALURU: The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) continues its robust passenger growth by recording 1.02 crore passengers from April to June this financial year. This marks a 7.2% growth in overall passenger traffic over the corresponding period during the previous fiscal, reveals the Air Traffic Report of the Airports Authority of India (AAI). International passengers are driving KIA's growth story with a 20.3% increase this quarter.
The traffic data for all airports across the country for the first quarter of this fiscal has just been released.
Airports across India have seen 99.54 million passengers thereby recording a cumulative 7.1% growth this quarter over the corresponding period in 2023-2024.
The Kempegowda International Airport has recorded 1,02,71,423 passengers in the first quarter versus 95,78,000 in April-June 2023-2024. The international passengers during the quarter stood at 13,43,412. A total of 89, 28,011 were domestic flyers marking a 5.5% increase over the comparative period last year. For June alone, KIA had a 9.1% increase in 2024 over that in 2023 (33,21,878 flyers vs 30,45,866)
Belagavi airport is back on the growth track with 93,087 people having flown this quarter, a 45.9% increase over the same period last fiscal.
Mangaluru airport has shown a growth of 19.7% this quarter with 5,53,883 as against 4,62,590, the report reveals.
Negative growth
Mysuru airport has nosedived in patronage by -45.3% this quarter with just 23,475 flyers as against 42,936 during the corresponding period last year. Hubballi airport has dipped by a substantial 25.5% during this fiscal with 71,418 flyers versus 95,809 last year. Flyers at HAL airport too has dipped by 28.4%----3,653 now vs 5102. Kalaburagi airport has gone down by 27.6% with just 10,713 in the first quarter versus 14,802 in the past year.
Bidar airport has nil passengers the first quarter as against 5,396 last fiscal. The only airline, Star Air, operating one route between Bidar and Bengaluru has pulled the plug on it this year. Shivamogga, the State’s newest airport inaugurated in August 2023 has recorded 21,326 flyers this first quarter. It is slowly picking up patronage with June having 6,227 flyers.