Bengaluru airport reports strong growth in passenger numbers in 2022-23

Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB / BLR Airport) reported a 96 per cent growth in passenger numbers during 2022-23 compared to the previous financial year, with 31.91 million passengers travelling through the airport.

The increase can be attributed to post-pandemic operations resumption, as well as the re-introduction of key routes and the initiation of new routes connecting leading business hubs and travel destinations, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said of the total, 28.12 million were domestic passengers and 3.78 million international passengers during this period. It continues to be the number one airport for processing perishable cargo in India for the second consecutive year and the third-ranked airport for handling international cargo in the country since August 2022.

”From a passenger perspective, the highlights of the year have been Akasa’s growth story, the launch of Qantas’ service to Sydney and the launch of daily Airbus A380 services to Dubai by Emirates. With the recent launch of Terminal 2 (T2), we are better equipped than ever before, to maintain our standing as the preferred gateway to South and Central India”, said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Bengaluru International Airport Limited.

The airport is now connected to a total of 100 destinations — 75 across India, and 25 international. The recovery in air transport movements (ATMs) has been impressive, with a 50.8 per cent overall growth in FY 23, it said. Major international airlines have reinstated their operations from Bengaluru.

Additionally, the airport has added several international routes, such as Qantas Airways commencing four weekly non-stop Bengaluru-Sydney flights, Cathay Pacific commencing flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route, Jazeera Airways commencing flights on the Bengaluru-Kuwait route, and Malindo Air commencing flights on the Bengaluru-Kuala Lumpur route.

In addition, the airport has also seen the launch of A380 operations by Emirates on one of their daily services to Dubai and the reinstatement of Air India’s three weekly, non-stop Bengaluru-San Francisco flights, the statement said. On the domestic front, Akasa Air launched operations from the airport with 25 daily departures to nine cities across India.

IndiGo remains the leading domestic airline from the airport with 57 per cent market share, followed by the Tata Group airlines, which have a total market share of 27 per cent. Akasa Air in just eight months since the launch of its operations has managed to capture 10 per cent market share of the airport’s domestic operations. The airport has processed 44,143 MT of perishable cargo in the current year till January 2023 (full-year results awaited) and 52,366 MT during FY22, it was stated.