Media Release
Mangaluru, Sep 3: With the re-opening of various states, the domestic passenger traffic from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has shown a massive rise in the month of August as compared to July. Latest data shows that 26,067 passengers departed with in India from MIA in August with in India as compared to 18,557 departures in July, thus showing a jump of 40.5 per cent. Similarly, 26,732 passengers arrived in August in MIA from domestic destinations as compared to 19,744 passengers in July, a rise of 35.4 per cent.
Industry sources say with the easing of travel curbs within India and abroad, various airlines are re-starting flights from Mangaluru International Airport to various destinations, which is the main reason for the healthy rise in traffic. The traffic is expected to increase manifold in the coming months due to the start of the festival season beginning September 10th.
While Air India has increased the frequency of its flights to Mumbai and Coimbatore daily, its subsidiary, Air India Express has re-started flights to various cities in the Middle East in August.
Indigo has re-started its flights to Sharjah after the UAE government allowed travel to the country. Indigo has also started an additional flight to Hyderabad as traffic picked up substantially across India. Similarly, Air India Express re-started its flights to Abu Dhabi as passengers’ flow improved from MIA.
The passenger flow is expected to improve in the coming weeks as more destinations re-open in the Middle East with the launch of Rapid RT PCR facilities. The Rapid RT PCR facility has been started by the MIA in association with Apollo Diagnostics. As per the UAE government health requirements, each passenger must get a negative RT PCT report at the airport six hours depending upon destination prior to boarding the aircraft.
The new destinations in August from MIA included Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Thiruvananthapuram by Air India Express, Hyderabad and Sharjah by IndiGo, and Daily flights to Mumbai and Coimbatore by Air India.
The MIA has undertaken various safety measures and has implemented numerous SOPs, including the preventive measures laid down by the Government to safeguard the passenger's well-being and curb the spread of the virus. Acting as a key driver in promoting domestic tourism and continuing to work in conjunction with airline operators, the airport offers world-class services and facilities to its passengers and leaves them with a memorable experience of their journey through the airport. The MIA has also arranged for rapid RT PCR at the airport to meet the mandatory health requirements of various Middle East destinations.