With the resumption of international flights to and from India, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru is witnessing 25 daily international departures on a daily basis, a significant increase from the earlier 10 each day. Airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) on Thursday said that the airport has restored more than 90 per cent of its routes from pre-Covid times.
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“With the gradual increase in international operations, the route network of Bengaluru airport is expected to restart routes and proceed with additional flights to meet the demand,” BIAL said.
At present, Bengaluru airport is connected to 21 international destinations in 17 countries operated through 24 airlines. The airport will add new routes to Seattle (American Airlines) later this year and strengthen its existing route to San Francisco (Air India), with United Airlines set to launch weekly flights in October, the world’s two Connects the largest technical centers – Bengaluru and San. Francisco,” said a BIAL official.
To address the expected growth in passenger traffic and to make the airport experience more seamless, BIAL has deployed automation-enabled technology at various checkpoints such as terminal entry, check-in, security check, immigration and customs. “The existing technology, such as smart security lanes with self-baggage drops, automatic tray retrieval system, along with other contactless technologies, will further enhance the overall airport experience,” said BIAL.
“Providing superior customer experience and continuously improving operational efficiency has become a strategic priority as passenger numbers are expected to increase over the next few months. The timely announcement of resumption of international flight operations ahead of the busy summer season has set a positive tone for the industry. With continuous infrastructure development and technology integration, BLR airport is well prepared to handle large passenger volumes,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.
Air travel is expected to improve rapidly after the resumption of international operations. “While the recovery of passenger traffic in calendar year 2021 was only 19% (versus pre-Covid calendar year 2019), due to travel restrictions and cross-border entry, it is expected to be driven by strong high-yield growth in the coming days. month. Demand for leisure and business travel from Bengaluru city,” BIAL said.
Pre-Covid, Bengaluru airport was connected to 25 international destinations, with an average of 40 international departures each day. “Despite the pandemic environment in both 2020 as well as 2021, the airport achieved some important milestones in calendar year 2021- Air India’s bi-weekly, non-stop Bengaluru-San Francisco flight, of South and Central India First airport flight. has become a hub. A non-stop connectivity to North America, Japan Airlines weekly flights to Tokyo Narita, United Airlines and American Airlines announced flight operations to Bengaluru airport despite the pandemic (flights to start later this year) . is),” BIAL said in a statement.
Meanwhile, according to BIAL, the recovery of domestic passenger traffic is promising with more than 80 per cent traffic recovery as compared to pre-Covid levels, especially during the first three weeks of March this year.
“The domestic air traffic (ATM) recovery has been close to 90 per cent of the pre-Covid levels and is expected to increase further in the coming weeks,” the statement said.
“Despite the ban on international travel and low traffic growth in the last two years, Bengaluru airport has established itself as a transfer hub for South India. Bengaluru airport has the strongest connectivity in South India, connecting to 74 domestic destinations. The share of flights for non-metro routes has shown a substantial increase from 58% (pre-Covid) to 63% in CY 2021. In addition, between the first and fourth quarter of 2021, passenger traffic on non-metro routes increased by 27%. , Bengaluru and between these points indicates strong demand,” BIAL said.