71% surge in passenger traffic at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: Bangalore International Airport had a 71% increase in passenger traffic to 27.5 million in 2022, owing in large part to a strong recovery in domestic passenger flow, which rose to 24.36 million throughout the year, or 85% of the 2019 (pre-pandemic) level. According to Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), a number of factors, including the reopening of important routes and the introduction of new flights connecting important commercial hubs and travel destinations, were responsible for the quick recovery in traffic.

In 2022, there were 3.14 million international visitors, a 65% increase from the pre-COVID level, compared to 940,000 travellers in 2021. As of December 31, 2021, the private airport operator had flown 12.39 million passengers overall.

As many as 3.13 million passengers travelled during the year-end holiday season in December 2022, exceeding the previous record set before COVID of 3.06 million passengers in December 2019 (of which 2.74 million were domestic passengers), according to BIAL.

In addition, compared to pre-COVID data, air transport movements (ATMs) rebounded by 98%, while domestic ATMs did the same in the previous year, according to the private airport operator. Overall, it claimed, domestic air travel has made a substantial contribution to the quick rebound.

In addition, BIAL claimed that the facility currently connects to 75 locations across India, an increase of 16 destinations, compared to pre-COVID, and that most airlines fully resumed their operations in 2022 after the two difficult years of the pandemic.

Qantas Airways opened a direct connection between Bengaluru and Sydney with four weekly flights after the company resumed regular international operations in March 2022, creating the first direct connectivity to Australia from South India, according to BIAL.

Emirates then started an A380 service to Dubai, citing growing demand from the airport in Bengaluru and south India. In addition, Bengaluru International Airport became the first airport in south and central India to have direct connection to North America in December of last year when Air India resumed service on its three times weekly Bengaluru-San Francisco route. According to the report, transfer passengers contributed to the growth in passenger volume. It also stated that with over 100 daily departures, the percentage of transfer passengers grew to 15% (+5% compared to pre-COVID years).

According to the airport's operator, the top domestic routes in 2022 will be Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, and Hyderabad, which will account for about 40% of all domestic travel, while the top international routes will be Dubai, Male, Singapore, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, which will account for about 47% of all travel worldwide.