Mumbai, Bengaluru airport passenger traffic grew by upto 21 percent in 2021

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The second half of 2021 saw a whopping 117 percent jump in passenger volume in domestic air travel at around 10.9 million passengers as against around 5-million passengers. Mumbai Airport and Bengaluru airport witnessed a 20 percent surge in passengers in 2021 as compared to 2020.

As per official sources, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) handled 19.8 million in 2021 compared to the previous year, led by domestic passenger volume. The private airport operator on January 24 said the airport consisted of 88 percent of overall traffic. The airport handled a total of 16.3 million passengers in Calendar Year (CY) 2020, as per the CSMIA.

Of the 19.8 million passengers, the airport catered to approximately 17.4 million domestic passengers across 1,40,000 flights and over 2.43 million international passengers across 17,290 flights, it said. The domestic passenger traffic accounted for almost 88 percent of the overall passenger movement from CSMIA, it said. Also, CSMIA handled a record single-day passenger movement of around 1,09,000 travellers in December 2021, transiting through the airport, which was the highest since March 2020, it said.

According to the airport operator, Delhi, Goa, Bengaluru continued to retain the spot as the top three domestic destinations from Mumbai with the highest number of passengers in CY2021 while the middle eastern countries like Dubai, Doha, Sharjah were the top three international destinations with high passenger traffic to and from CSMIA in the previous year as compared to 2020 where Dubai, London-Heathrow and Newark were the top three international destinations. CSMIA currently acts as a gateway to 62 domestic destinations and 33 international destinations for passengers from Mumbai, it said. 

Meanwhile, apart from passenger traffic, the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) has recorded its highest-ever cargo tonnage, despite a turbulent pandemic environment. In CY 2021, the airport has also welcomed 16.07 million passengers, registering a growth of 18.9 percent this year when compared to 13.51 million passengers in 2020.

With the gradual easing of curbs by various state governments, domestic passenger traffic recorded double-digit growth of 22.0 percent, an upswing from 12.39 million in CY 2020 to 15.12 million in CY 2021. During the period, the BLR Airport processed an all-time high tonnage of 406,688 Metric Tonnes (MT) of cargo, recording a significant growth of 28.6 percent versus 316,305 MT in 2020.

Similarly, international cargo recorded a 32.8 percent growth, 265,873 MT processed, as compared to 200,209 MT in 2020. Domestic cargo grew at 21.3 percent, 140,815 MT processed versus 116,096 MT in 2020. The US and Europe continue to be the top trade lanes from BLR Airport. "The tremendous recovery in air cargo is a positive sign for the aviation sector that has been severely impacted by the pandemic," said Hari Marar, MD, and CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited.

"The key factors that contributed to the cargo growth at Bengaluru Airport are our resilient ecosystem that ensured efficient operations round the clock; focus on supply chain efficiencies; conducive geographic location, aided with robust infrastructure and technology; the right mix of commodities, and adequate airline capacities to key markets, globally," Marar added.

With inputs from PTI