BENGALURU: Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) continues its upward surge in terms of passengers with a total of 30,75,234 domestic and international flyers recorded in November 2023. This marks an 8.6% over passenger traffic in the corresponding month last year. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) says 310.31 lakh passengers have flown in and out of the country last month and marks an overall 10.7% increase over November 2022.
AAI’s latest report detailing air traffic for all Indian airports says Bengaluru airport recorded 3,98,792 international flyers in November, which is a healthy surge of 14.5% over a similar period last year. A total of 26,76,442 domestic passengers flew during the period, marking a 7.8% increase over a similar period. The report says 2,403 International Air Traffic Movements (total of all arrival and departure aircraft) have been recorded in November this year as compared to 2,161 ATMs in the previous year. It is fast catching up with Cochin airport which has recorded 70 ATMs more while Hyderabad airport is just 60 ATMs behind it. It easily beats the other two international airports of the South in domestic ATMs with 18,160 recorded as against 12,332 by Hyderabad and 3,153 by Cochin.
Karnataka’s only other international airport at Mangaluru has increased its domestic ATMs by 33.2% this November over last- 1,022 vs 767. However, on the international front it has had a major dip of 22.4% with just 266 movements recorded.
The newest airport in Karnataka, Shivamogga which commenced operations on August 31 this year is showing a gradual increase in patronage. While it had just 145 passengers for the single day it operated in August, the number went up to 3,247 in September, 3,338 in October and touched 4,622 flyers in November.
Mangaluru had 1,38, 953 domestic flyers and 40,045 international flyers, an increase of 38.6% and a dip by 9% respectively over last year’s November figures. Hubballi had 31,447 passengers marking just a 2.6% increase while Belagavi recorded a terrific surge of flyers of 44.7% recording 32,059 passengers in November 2023 as against 22,149 in Nov 2022. A senior airport official predicted that patronage would pick up hugely at the airport after the daily flight between Belagavi and Delhi by Indigo was launched on October 5.
Kalaburagi had a 31.2% dip in flyers with just 4,823 using the airport last month as against 7,015 recorded in the same period last year while Mysuru airport patronage slips into four digits with a 30.2% dip with 8,878 last month as against 12,716 in November 2022.