KIA records 32.9% passenger growth in Q1 of 2018-19

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here recorded a 32.9% growth in passenger numbers in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year. The country’s third busiest airport had crossed the 25 million annual passengers mark in 2017.

A total of 8.02 million travellers passed through the airport in the first three months of 2018-19, up from 6.04 million during the corresponding period in the 2017-18 financial year. On June 30 this year, 98,869 passengers arrived and departed from KIA, a new record for the busiest day.

Driven primarily by the holiday season and special offers by airlines, domestic passengers grew by 35.8% and international passengers by 16.8%. A total of 6.94 million domestic passengers and 1.08 million international fliers passed through KIA between April and June 2018.

Air Traffic Movements (ATM) improved by 32.9%. A total of 58,054 ATMs were recorded during the period, compared to 43,673 movements last year. The highest-ever ATMs in a single day was 685, reported on May 4, 2018, as the airport averaged 638 movements per day.

Cargo growth

A record 97,486 metric tonnes (MT) of cargo was processed in three months at KIA. This was 16.6% more than 83,584 MT handled in the first three months of FY 2017.

The 34,398 MT processed in June alone helped the airport set another new monthly record in KIA’s history. International cargo processed during the period was 61,888 MT (15.5% growth), while domestic was 35,598 MT (18.7% growth).

As many as 33 passenger airlines — eight domestic and 25 international airlines — connected Bengaluru with 67 destinations (45 domestic and 22 international) during this period. Gulf Air, which started operations on
May 1, 2018, is the new addition, connecting Bengaluru to Bahrain with daily flights. A total of 11 cargo airlines, including one domestic and 10 international, connect Bengaluru.

The top domestic destinations during the first quarter were Delhi (1,115,145), Mumbai (875,474) and Kolkata (473,089), while the top international destinations were Dubai (209,425), Singapore (163,638) and Abu Dhabi (77,166). On Time Performance (OTP) of departures from KIA stood at 85.6%.