Weighed down by the deepening crisis in the civil aviation sector that poses a threat to business profitability, the Cochin International Airport Limited has cut down its traffic outlook for the first half of the next fiscal.
As per the summer schedule-2012, to be effective from March 25 to the next eight months, the total number of aircraft departures per week will be around 415 as against the 469 landings recorded at the beginning of the ongoing winter schedule.
With just 235 departures, the total number of operations in the domestic sector has been cut down by 44 services, while the international sector, with just 180 departures, is set to lag behind.
In the domestic sector, Spice Jet will start a new daily service in the Hyderabad-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram route.
However, the international sector is set to witness the largest number of additions with the Singapore-based Tiger Airways set to commence its ex-Kochi operations during the period. Further, Jet Airways will launch a daily direct flight in the Kochi-Bahrain sector while Air India will operate another service in the Kochi-Muscat sector, three times a week.
Meanwhile, the Colombo-based SriLankan Airways has doubled its total number of services to the station here.
According to the schedule, Jet Airways will be the largest service provider in the international sector with 28 services a week to the Gulf sector, followed by Air India Express with 27 flights. In the domestic segment, Jet Airways with 56 departures and Spice Jet and Air India with 49 services each, are the market leaders.
Given the frequency of international services from here, CIAL will have direct connectivity to most of the Middle-East destinations, in addition to the onward connections to various European destinations as well as Far East.
Further, it will be well connected to all the metros and other non-metro airports in the country including Bangalore, Hyderabad and Agathi, apart from the other two airports in the State.
CIAL targets to achieve passenger traffic of 5 million during the current financial year as against the 4.3 million in the previous period.
“With the country emerging to be the top performer among domestic markets, we expect the total passenger movement to grow by at least 18 percent this fiscal,” remarked a senior company official.
According to him, the trend is set to improve further with more international carriers planning direct connections.
CIAL has been in consultations with four airlines on the commencement of services to Kochi from the various European and Far Eastern destinations.
While a couple of these carriers expressed willingness in studying the potential of Kochi in passenger and cargo movements, some others agreed to give the station a priority while deciding their route addition schemes.
