THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The number of passengers and air traffic movement at Thiruvananthapuram international airport has increased significantly following the relaxation of travel restrictions imposed due to Covid pandemic. The number of flights from the airport to Maldives has also gone up this summer. Maldivian Airlines has now resumed flights to Hanimaadhoo island.
The number of services to Male will increase to five days a week from May 29, officials said. There would be two weekly flights to Hanimaadhoo. They will land inThiruvananthapuram at 2.40am on Sundays and Thursdays, and return at 3.40 am.
The service to Male is currently available on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The new service will start on Wednesdays and Sundays. The flight will arrive at 4.15pm and return at 5.15pm. The service will benefit travellors coming to Kerala for medical treatment from the Maldives. Also, people from Kerala and Tamil Nadu who work in Maldives and toursists will also benefit from new services.
The airport handled 1.2 lakh passengers in March 2022, a significant hike from the 67,919 passengers in April last year. In the first days of April, the number of daily international passengers reached over 4,000.
Carriers such as Air India Express, Air Arabia, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Salam Air, Fly Dubai, Indigo, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Maldivian Airways, Scoot and Sri Lankan Airlines currently operate services from Thiruvananthapuram.