THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time of high ticket tariffs due to the upcoming festival season, air passengers from the state travelling to Europe, the US, and Canada are now looking to Mumbai as a transit hub. If Dubai or other GCC countries were the preferred choice earlier, Malayalis are now opting to travel via Mumbai International Airport due to the huge difference in ticket prices.
This has resulted in an increase in passengers from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai. Airport sources say there has been an enormous rise in the number of passengers travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai in the last six months. Now, there are now six daily flights between Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai, operated by IndiGo (three), Air India (two) and Vistara (one). Vistara will add another service from next month.
On average, 12,000 passengers travel daily from Thiruvananthapuram airport, of which around 6,000 are domestic passengers. Of this, nearly 20% use Mumbai as a transit hub for onward destinations abroad.
That means around 1,200 passengers travel daily from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai on their to European countries, the US, and Canada, sources said.“There has been an organic growth in international passengers preferring to transit via Mumbai. Earlier, they used to depend on Gulf countries, especially Dubai.
This has now changed. It is primarily due to the price difference, which according to passengers, varies between Rs 10,000 to 20,000 per head. However, the rate may differ depending on the season. The trend is similar in Kochi, too,” a source said.
Benny Thomas, owner of Holiday Shop, a tour operator in the state, said passengers prefer Mumbai for transit due to cheaper tickets, and this has become the norm.
“The frequency of flights from airports in Kerala to Mumbai has increased considerably in the last few months. This is also due to the increased migration of students and job seekers to Europe and the US in the last few years. This trend will only increase in the coming years. Currently, IndiGo has a check-in service at Thiruvanthapuram for international travellers transiting from Mumbai.
Tour operators have started bookings looking to cash in on the opportunity,” he said. According to S N Reghuchandran Nair, chairman, Airport Users Consultative Committee, Thiruvananthapuram, the air connectivity from Thiruvananthapuram airport to western countries via Mumbai airport has increased enormously. “ Since the number of daily flights from Thiruvananthapuram airport has increased, ticket prices have dropped.”
Now, a passenger can travel to Mumbai for `3,500. Recently, a friend travelled to New York from Mumbai on an Air India Express flight rather than taking an Emirates flight from Dubai.
The up-and-down ticket was Rs 3.5 lakh in business class. A flight via Dubai would have cost him around Rs 4.5 lakh. It is this difference that is the attraction,” he said.