Passenger, aircraft movements nearing pre-COVID-19 levels at Mangaluru International Airport

The aircraft and passenger movement at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) are nearing the pre-COVID-19 levels.

The airport handled 10.51 lakh passengers and 8,561 aircraft movement in seven months, from April 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022, against 11.04 lakh passengers and 8,985 aircraft movement from April 1 to October 31, 2019. This is 95.17% (passenger traffic) and 95.28% (aircraft movements) achievement when compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, a release from the airport said on Wednesday.

The airport which handled 10.51 lakh passengers in the first seven months of 2022-23 achieved a 144.51% growth against the 4.29 lakh passengers it handled in the same period of 2021-22.

Likewise, it handled 8,561 aircraft movements in the first seven months of this financial year registered a 77.83% growth as against the 4,814 aircraft movements handled in the same period of 2021-22, the airport said.

The airport domestically provides direct connectivity to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Hubballi. Passengers have the choice to fly onward to destinations of their choice from these airports. Internationally, the airport serves as a gateway to Dubai, Dammam, Muscat, Kuwait, Doha, Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi.

According to rating agency Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited (ICRA), the domestic passenger traffic for Indian carriers reported a healthy year-on-year (YoY) growth of 57.7% to 84.2 million in 2022-23, the release said.