If initial trends are any indication, the re-routing of several international flights from Kozhikode to Kochi has brought in rich benefits to the Cochin International Airport Limited in terms of passenger and cargo volumes.
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According to CIAL officials, with the runway re-carpeting works, four major airlines operating in the Gulf sector have shifted the operations of their wide bodied and midsize aircraft to the airport here.
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They have together added about 58 aircraft movements a week (29 landings and 29 take-offs) to the existing schedule of 533 operations, which roughly comes to about 2,620 additional seats a day.
“The number of average daily passenger movement in the international sector has increased by 2,200 from May 15. Going by this trend, the number of passengers in the international sector is set to increase by nearly 60,000 a month, taking the total annual passenger movement at the airport close to 7.5 million this fiscal,” said a top CIAL official.
The flights that have been diverted to Kochi from Kozhikode are by Air India to Jeddah and Riyadh sectors, Saudi Arabian Airlines connecting Jeddah, Riyah and Dammam, Ethihad from Abu Dhabi and Emirates from Dubai.
The airport company has made special arrangements to accommodate these flights, which are operating during non-peak hours.
The arrival of new flights has also led to a sharp increase in the daily average export of perishable cargo, which has become 170.3 tonnes a day as against 120.6 tonnes before May 15. The daily average volume of perishable cargo was around 92.15 tonnes a day in the previous fiscal.
The airport, which recorded a total passenger movement of 8.33 lakhs in its first year of operation, currently stands fourth in the country in terms of international traffic.
On the occasion of its 17th year of operation, CIAL has embarked on a growth plan worth Rs.1,600 crore, which is expected to meet its infrastructure requirements for the next two decades.
The airport is also on course to become the first solar-powered airport in the world by installing a 14 megawatt solar energy project. The project, to be completed in three months’ time, will help generate between 50,000 to 60,000 units of power per day, higher than its daily requirement of just under 50,000 units.