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KIA ranked second fastest growing airport in 2018

Last Updated 21 August 2018, 20:11 IST

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru has emerged as the world's second fastest growing airport during the first half of the calendar year 2018.

The IT capital of India Bengaluru helped transit 1,58,50,352 passengers between January 2018 and June 2018, a jump of 41,80,852 passengers, or 35.8%, from H1 2017, according to data compiled by global airlines events organising company Routes.

In terms of growth, the city's airport is second only to Tokyo's Haneda Airport that handled 4,32,88,558 passengers with a jump of 43,44,307 passengers during the period.

"These numbers stand testament to the impressive growth of Bengaluru as a new hub of economic activity in India, led largely by the knowledge economy," Hari Marar, MD and CEO, BIAL, the company that operates KIA, said.

Other airports from India to find a place in the top 20 list are New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at sixth slot and Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at the 17th slot. While IGI Airport saw a jump of 32,76,183 passengers during the quarter, RGI Airport saw a jump of 20,97,087 passengers.

"To keep pace with this growth, the BLR Airport is on the cusp of tremendous infrastructure development that will include a new terminal and a second runway to ensure that we are able to keep pace with the burgeoning passenger growth, ensuring passenger delight at every stage," Marar added.

Despite the growth, IGI Airport continues to be India's largest airport handling 3,49,05,629 passengers during the six months.

"Airports in China and India accounted for ten of the top 20 fastest-growing major airports in the world during the first half of the year, highlighting the growing dominance of the countries as aviation powerhouses," said Routes in their report.

Meanwhile, analysts suggest that as the IT services industry is showing the turnaround, Bengaluru is seeing more influx of passengers. "The weather is good this year, plus the IT services industry seems to be back on the track. So, more and more people are travelling to Bengaluru," an analyst told DH.

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(Published 21 August 2018, 09:51 IST)

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