Mangaluru airport expects 50 per cent rise in passenger traffic

Mangaluru: The Director-General of Civil Aviation's decision to allow operation of scheduled commercial international passenger flights from March 27 will result in increased demand for connecting domestic commercial airline services. Mangaluru International Airport is preparing to join in on the fun, with a prospect of dramatic rise in daily movements and the addition of more destinations.

Currently, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India and GoFirst are the only airlines flying from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Coimbatore. IndiGo is the most popular airline, with 57 weekly flights linking Mangaluru to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. SpiceJet operates eight flights -- four to Bengaluru and four to Hyderabad; Air India has seven flights to Coimbatore, and GoFirst has six flights to Mumbai.

According to the airlines' tentative summer schedules, IndiGo will increase weekly flights to 77 to Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai; SpiceJet will increase weekly movements to 14 – all to Bengaluru; Air India will remain at seven – all direct to Mumbai rather than via Coimbatore as it currently operates; and GoFirst will increase weekly operations to 14 – all to Mumbai. The total number of weekly aircraft movements will increase to 112 from the current 78.

IndiGo has also suggested a new route to Pune with five weekly departures. With a daily trip to the national capital Delhi, SpiceJet will fulfil the long-felt need of the residents of coastal Karnataka. Instead of flying through Coimbatore, Air India will soon fly directly to Mumbai, India's commercial centre. The improved connectivity will help boost the region's economic success.

The additional flights will increase passenger traffic in the coastal city known as Karnataka's Gateway. In February, the airport served 103273 passengers. There were 74862 domestic passengers transported via 903 aircraft movements, including 630 domestic,

227 international, and the remainder general aviation. This number has been steadily increasing since October 2021, and it is likely to climb much more with the summer schedule.