JHARSUGUDA: Around 16,000 passengers travelled through Jharsuguda Airport in July. The number of air passengers was recorded at 19,000 in June.
On an average, around 525 passengers use the airport daily. So, far over 59,000 passengers have travelled to various destinations served by Spicejet and Alliance Air from the airport.
As per trend in the aviation sector, negative growth during monsoon in passenger traffic is a normal feature.
The other reason for the decline in passenger traffic could be withdrawal of Delhi-Jharsuguda flight for which a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with seating capacity of 189 was used.
The flight operated every Monday. Inclement weather at the airport could also have contributed to the fall in passenger traffic.
Recently, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had upgraded the navigational infrastructure at the airport by commissioning Doppler Very High-Frequency Omni Range (DVOR) and Distance Measuring Instrument (DME).
Spicejet was permitted by the DGCA to use it. The move is aimed at reducing diversion or cancellation of flights due to bad weather at the airport.