BENGALURU: The rush of travellers arriving and exiting Bengaluru via the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on the last weekend of January was unprecedented. It was a long weekend beginning January 24 (Friday) until the Republic Day on January 26 (Monday). On January 24, the footfall on a single day broke the previous records at the airport, which witnessed a record footfall of around 1.4 lakh passengers. These include those who arrived into the city or left, domestic and international travellers included. The average daily footfall at KIA is around 1.2 lakh passengers.
“The rush was unprecedented. It was a challenge for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), KIA and airline operators as the airport was on high alert between January 20 and January 30 on the occasion of Republic Day. It was teamwork at its best that day,” said sources.
The total number of passengers that travelled from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 on January 24 was 83,494 and 55,593, respectively. “Higher passenger load meant pressure at every touch point. While being sensitive to the passengers, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the security protocol during the high alert period had to be strictly followed,” added sources.
“The CISF personnel deployed at KIA along with the airport and airline operators worked in seamless collaboration and calm professionalism. Majority of the passenger load at T1 was handled by Digi Yatra. Around 40 to 50 per cent of passengers from T1 use the digital initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for ease of travel,” said sources.