Hyderabad airport eyes 20 mn flyers in FY19

​Hyderabad: Buoyed by increase in passenger traffic, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here is looking to handle 20 million passengers, both domestic and international, during the current fiscal. The airport owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHAIL) handled 18 million passengers last fiscal. 

"In 2015 we celebrated 10 millionth passenger. In 2018, we almost doubled. This year (FY19) we would have handled 20 million passengers through our Hyderabad airport,” SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, said here on Wednesday.

“Hyderabad airport has clocked 24 per cent YoY annual growth in domestic passengers - fastest in the country, and if you combine international passengers also, we have been doing around 20 per cent during the last three years," he noted.

With significant traction in passenger traffic, the airport has now taken up expansion programme to increase the capacity to 34 to 40 million passengers per annum. The present terminal was designed to handle 12 million passengers.

Keeping in view the growth, the airport on Wednesday inaugurated the Interim International Departures Terminal (IIDT) that is set to commence operations from October 23.

The IIDT is equipped with a host of new technologies including country's first ever remote hand baggage screening facility, which when coupled with the new Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) hand baggage screening, can offer up to double the passenger throughout at security checkpoints, GMR said. 

Coinciding with the opening of new interim terminal, the Hyderabad Duty Free (HDF) store at the departure level too has been relocated and upgraded to offer an enhanced shopping experience to passengers. 

Currently, 22 airlines operate international flights from the international airport here. On an average, the airport handles over 5,500 international departing passengers and 32 international flight departures daily, connecting to 29 global destinations.

Secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rajiv Nayan Choubey inaugurated the interim terminal in the presence of Shailendra Kumar Joshi, Chief Secretary of Telangana, GBS Raju, Business Chairman, Airports, GMR Group and SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL among others.

GHIAL has launched an awareness campaign using its website, WhatsApp and SMS to inform the passengers about the change, along with a focused communication campaign on the Social Media with the tag #ShiftingInternationalDepartures.