Bangalore airport traffic up 22% Y-o-Y

The Bengaluru International Airport today reported that passenger traffic would top 9.3 million during the calendar year 2009 which was a growth of 22 per cent over the previous year. Meanwhile, the cargo handled during the 12 months was estimated at 161,896 tonnes.

The present ‘daily traffic movements’ are 280 aircraft, the airport said in a statement. Based on the air traffic figures, an upward trend has been reported since July of this year. The passenger traffic in the last quarter was 2.45 million, the highest ever at the airport since its inauguration during May last year.

“Traffic figures are seen on a steady increase with passenger traffic rising from 727,186 in January to an estimated 867,718 in December 2009,” it said. Cargo also showed an upswing from June this year, in comparison to last year, with growth rate of 1.8 per cent in June to 20 per cent in December.

These figures indicate of the market improving from the slowdown that prevailed earlier in the year, the airport said. The airport is looking at the addition of four new routes, three international and one domestic every year. It is also looking at the addition of two new international carriers every year. The focus would be on connecting Bangalore to China, Africa and the US.

New passenger demand for BIA in the near-to-midterm would primarily come from airlines based in Asia and West Asia. Next year, Air China has plans for the Shanghai-Chengdu-Bangalore route, while Qatar Airways has expressed intent to begin operations from here by deploying an A321 daily, arriving from Doha. Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur is also scheduled to begin operations in April.

Flights like Lufthansa and Air France that had reduced frequencies have expressed reinstatement of the same. Other airlines like Oman Air, Sri Lankan Airways, Malaysian Airways and Tiger Airways are looking to increase weekly frequencies to Bangalore, the airport said. Freighters FedEx, Aryan air cargo and Quikjet have also expressed intention to begin operations from Bangalore airport this season, the statement said.

The airport is also looking at the addition of two new international carriers every year. The focus will be on connecting Bangalore to China, Africa and US.

The increased focus across airlines is to tweak frequencies in line with yields and projected demand to create a sustainable operation. Increased aircraft capacities and hence new passenger demand for BIAL in the near – to – midterm will primarily come from airlines based in Asia and West Asia.