KIA shrugs off lockdown blues, serves 13K domestic flyers daily

Marginal climb

Gearing up for the resumption of international flights post-July 15, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has seen a marginal rise in domestic passengers ever since operations resumed on May 25.

Arrivals and departures combined, KIA now processes 13,000 daily passengers.

Mounting Covid-19 cases in multiple urban centres linked to Bengaluru by air and frequent changes in post-flight quarantine rules have meant the rise in passenger turnout is not substantial, said most airline spokespersons.

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Currently, KIA handles an average of 140 flights daily, arrivals and departures included.

Shifting quarantine rules had played havoc with the travel schedules of passengers when domestic flights resumed operations. Many had refused to pay up the amount for institutional quarantine mandated by the government.

The uncertainty did create confusion. But did it affect passenger numbers? A Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) spokesperson explained: “The quarantine rules are subject to state and Central government mandates. As such, it is hard to draw a correlation between the quarantine rules and the number of passengers.”

Last Friday, as part of Unlock 2.0, the Centre had decided to increase the number of domestic flights from 33% (of pre-lockdown numbers) to 45%. However, aviation experts said this is unlikely to spur airlines to immediately increase their flight numbers substantially as multiple state governments are reintroducing lockdowns in their cities to curb the pandemic.

Nevertheless, Air India cited a marginal rise in its passenger numbers to increase flights. Delhi-Bengaluru and Bengaluru-Chandigarh were among the routes that indicated this trend. “We are operating our flights as per bookings and we see slow and steady growth,” an Air India spokesperson told DH.

The change in passenger load was particularly apparent on the Delhi and Kolkata sectors.

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International flights

Meanwhile, BIAL was gearing up for the resumption of regular international arrivals from Mid-July.

“Once scheduled international operations are allowed by MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation), BLR Airport will work with both Central and state government organisations to ensure that all mandatory requirements are in place to ensure passengers and staff safety, while not compromising on the quality of the Airport experience,” a BIAL spokesperson said.