The number of international flights departing from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru has risen from 10 flights each day to 25. This comes in the wake of the Indian Government removing restrictions on international flights to and from India.
At present, 24 airlines operate to 21 international destinations from KIA. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bengaluru was connected to 25 international destinations, with an average of 40 international departures each day.
Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates KIA, expects air traffic recovery to be faster following the resumption of international operations.
According to BIAL: “While passenger traffic grew by 19% in the calendar year (CY) 2021 (vs pre-Covid CY 2019) due to travel restrictions and cross-border entry, it is expected to grow steadily in the coming months, driven by the strong leisure and business travel demand from the city of Bengaluru.”
International passenger traffic is expected to increase as BIAL is set to add new routes later this year to Seattle (American Airlines) and augment its existing route to San Francisco (Air India). In October, United Airlines is expected to launch weekly flights connecting the tech hubs of Bengaluru and San Francisco.
“Delivering superior customer experience and consistently improving operational efficiency has become a strategic priority as passenger volumes are expected to grow over the next few months. The timely announcement of the resumption of international flight operations ahead of the busy summer travel season has set a positive tone for the industry. With continuous infrastructure development and technology integrations, BLR airport is well prepared to handle larger passenger volumes,” said Hari Marar, MD and CEO of BIAL.
Surge in domestic passenger traffic
KIA has seen a surge in domestic travel. According to BIAL: “The domestic passenger traffic recovery has been promising at nearly 80% higher than Covid-19 levels, especially during the first three weeks of March this year. The domestic Air Traffic Movement (ATM) recovery has been close to 90% of pre-Covid levels and is expected to grow further in the coming weeks.”
Currently, KIA has flights to 74 domestic destinations. Flights on non-metro routes have ‘significantly higher passenger numbers from 58% pre-COVID to 63% of pre-COVID levels in CY2021’. Between the first and fourth quarter of 2021, passenger traffic on non-metro routes grew by 27%.
To address the expected increase in passenger traffic, BIAL has deployed automation-enabled technology at various checkpoints, such as terminal entry, check-in, security check, immigration, and customs.
