The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which is the operator of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru’s Devanahalli, has recorded a 71 per cent surge in its passenger traffic in 2022 as compared to 2021.
Passenger traffic was at 27.5 million people in 2022, helped by increased domestic passenger volume, which recovered to pre-pandemic levels after the operator re-launched several key routes and introduced new ones to top business and travel destinations, news agency PTI reported.
International passenger traffic also recovered by reaching 3.14 million in 2022 as compared to around 940,000 in 2021.
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“There was a sharp increase in passenger numbers during the year-end holiday season with as many as 3.13 million passengers travelling in December 2022 (of which, 2.74 million were domestic passengers) – surpassing the pre-Covid record of 3.06 million passengers in December 2019,” BIAL told PTI.
The facility runs flights across 75 destinations across India, and had added 16 new destinations after the pandemic hit. This coupled with most carriers resuming all of their operations in 2022 led to a surge in domestic passenger traffic.
Some new routes launched in the past year include Qantas Airways’ direct flight between Bengaluru and Sydney four times a week, which was the first direct flight from South India to Australia.
Major airline Emirates also launched its flagship A380 signature double-decker flight from the Karnataka capital to Dubai, which was a big treat for aviation enthusiasts. Moreover, Air India’s Bengaluru to San Francisco flight also made a comeback.
Passengers from Bengaluru mostly flew to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, and Hyderabad in 2022, BIAL said.
(With PTI inputs)
