August used to be a dull season in terms of air traffic and cargo handling at the Coimbatore International Airport, but this time, it has seen a sharp rise in the footfall and cargo handling, airport sources said.
The total number of passengers handled by way of 1,701 air craft movements has gone up from 2,56,673 in July to 2,79,351 in August. Domestic air travellers have increased from 2,42,362 in July to 2,49,600 passengers.
This is possibly because of new airliners operating in and out of Coimbatore. Recently, a flight was added on to the Coimbatore - Abu Dhabi sector in addition to the existing flights to Singapore and Sharjah by Scoot and Air Arabia. Indigo is to formally announce the introduction of a flight to Singapore and Australia. Coimbatore Airport serves the travel needs of seven districts in Tamil Nadu besides Palakkad and Malappuram in Kerala and the airport handed 30 lakh passengers in a year.
With the State government having given an unconditional enter-upon permission to the Airports Authority, the airport expansion is expected to begin within the next few months. On the cargo handling front, the Coimbatore Airport handled 1,079 metric tonnes in July including 904 metric tonnes of domestic and 175 metric tonnes of international cargo and this has gone up to 1,039 metric tonnes of domestic cargo and 202 metric tonnes of international cargo in August.
Published - September 05, 2024 06:49 pm IST
