Bengaluru airport emerges third largest in India

The airport has overtaken Chennai and Hyderabad to become the busiest airport in south India by handling 15 million passengers this year

Within seven years of opening, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAB), Bengaluru, has emerged South India's busiest airport and third largest in the country.

The airport handled its 15 millionth passenger on March 22, 2015, which marked the graduation of the airport to the mid-sized airport category (15 to 25 million passenger airports) classification, KIAB said in a statement.

KIAB commenced its operations on May 28, 2008.

It had achieved its previous highest traffic record of handling 12.86 million passengers in the last financial year. Incidentally, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad, which commenced operations two months ahead of Bengaluru in 2008, achieved 10 million passenger mark on March 21, 2015.

Similar category airports around the world include Abu Dhabi, Berlin TXL, Brisbane, Brussels, Dublin, Seoul GMP, Stockholm ARN and Zurich among others.

"With this exponential growth, we have consolidated our position as India's third largest airport and South India?s busiest airport with highest passenger traffic. KIAB will most likely end the current financial year with 15.24 million passengers," G V Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said.

The 2014-15 passenger traffic report at KIAB shows an upswing by 19.3 per cent marked by 21.4 per cent growth in domestic and 11.2 per cent growth in international traffic while the air traffic movements (ATMs) rose by 13.2 per cent this fiscal year as compared to same time last year.

The year 2014-15 witnessed 15.9 per cent growth in cargo, led by 25.3 per cent growth in domestic and 10 per cent growth in international cargo. Supporting Karnataka's vision of becoming a pharma hub, the airport cargo partner Menzies Aviation Bobba inaugurated its Pharma Cold Zone in 2014.

Twenty six international airlines including seven freighters and seven domestic airlines including one freighter operate from KIAB. The city is connected with 16 international destinations and 34 domestic destinations. Earlier this year, the KIAB won the Best Regional Airport in Central Asia award by Skytrax and Dream Company to work for in aviation by World HRD Congress.