Transfer passengers' share likely to double in 10 years, says BIAL COO

The share of passengers using Bengaluru airport as a transit hub is expected to increase from 15 per cent to 30 per cent over the next ten years, amid significant capacity additions by airlines and consolidation within the industry, said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

 

In an interview with Business Standard, he said about five years ago, the share of transfer traffic in the airport’s overall traffic was about six per cent.

 

“Of this, over 95 per cent was D2D (domestic-to-domestic)...Currently, the share of transfer traffic is about 15 per cent. Within that, about 82 per cent of traffic is D2D, about 17 per cent is I2D (international-to-domestic) or D2I (domestic-to-international), and about one per cent is I2I (international-to-international)," he said.

 

"As we scale, the share of transfer passengers in our overall traffic will increase to 25 to 30 per cent. This doubling of the share of transfer passengers in overall traffic will take place in the next 10 years," Raghunath noted.

 

Overall passenger traffic at Bengaluru airport grew 9 per cent year-on-year to 40.73 million in 2024. An increasing number of passengers are using Bengaluru airport as a transit hub to travel between Europe and Southeast Asia, Europe and Sri Lanka, Mauritius to Sri Lanka, Mauritius to Singapore, and Mauritius to Thailand.

 

"While these are very interesting I2I flows, they are not in large numbers. However, over the next three to five years, you could see a change in this segment as well," he noted.

 

In the last two years, all major Indian carriers - IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa Air - have placed huge orders totaling approximately 1,300 planes with aircraft manufacturers. Consequently, all airports - including Bengaluru airport - are expanding their infrastructure to handle these additional planes.

 

Raghunath said it was difficult to predict how the share of transfer traffic will jump from 15 per cent to 30 per cent “because a lot depends on airlines, the routes they start, and what options passengers see at other airports".

 

"In the next 10 years, the D2D share in the total transfer passengers will decrease while D2I, I2D, and I2I will increase because the airlines make money in the international sectors. The domestic market is based purely on cost control," he said.

 

Vistara last November merged into Air India. AIX Connect merged into Air India Express last October. Commending the consolidation, Raghunath said there were now two "strong airline groups" - Air India Group and IndiGo. He said that with the emergence of Akasa Air and the resurgence of SpiceJet, there will be three or four solid players driving growth and demand.

 

He said that after the consolidation within the Tata Group-run airlines, they have added more flights and tightened their "banks" leading to better D2I and I2D connectivity. A "bank" in aviation refers to a group of flights scheduled to arrive and depart at a hub around the same time. This helps passengers easily switch planes and connect to their next flight without long waits.

 

"Earlier, you used to have one bank. As the airports get busier, larger airlines like IndiGo and the Air India Group will start having two connecting banks so that there are more frequencies and choices for passengers. That will be a big change for us. It is not going to happen overnight. However, over the next three or four years, you will see there will be one or two distinct connecting banks for D2I and I2D travel," he said.

 

At Bengaluru airport, Indigo has been the largest carrier with about 57 per cent of the market share. The consolidated Tata Group carriers (Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express) have about 28 per cent of the market share. "Given the size of these two groups, there has been an increase in the number of transfer passengers. D-D transfers for IndiGo have increased to about 25-30 per cent of their total traffic at Bengaluru airport this year," he noted.