Kerala - Kochi   

CIAL registers growth in traffic

M.P. Praveen

Airport stands fourth in international passenger and flight traffic

KOCHI: Having successfully completed eight years of operation, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), at Nedumbassery, the country’s first Greenfield airport, is all set to scale new heights in terms of passenger and flight movements.

From the time when the first aircraft, an Air India flight from Dammam, landed here on June 10, 1999, the airport had made commendable growth in the twin areas of passenger and flight movement. The airport now stands fourth among the airports in the country in terms of international passenger and flight traffic.

Passenger movement through the Kochi airport witnessed fabulous growth over the last eight years. In the domestic sector, the number of passengers increased from 2,91,530 in 1999-2000, when the airport started functioning, to 11,31,898, a growth of almost 288 per cent, Shriram Bharath, the managing director of CIAL, told The Hindu. The projected rate of growth for the ongoing fiscal is 25 per cent, he said.

The growth rate in the international passenger movement through the airport during the same period was even higher with the number of passengers increasing from 2,04,372 to 14,29,172, registering a growth of almost 600 per cent, Mr. Bharath said. The projected growth for the ongoing fiscal is 25 per cent as the number is expected to hit 17,86,465.

The airport, which started with a handful of international carriers, now boasts of 12 foreign carriers, besides 3 public sector carriers. Among the 15 carriers, Air India Express and Air Arabia offer budget service to the passengers. Tiger Aviation, a Singapore-based budget carrier has expressed interest to launch daily services in the Kochi-Singapore sector, Mr. Bharath said.

In the domestic sector there are seven carriers, including two budget carriers, operating out of Kochi. Indigo Airlines, a Gurgaon-based private low cost carrier has evinced interest in Kochi-sector operations.

Presently, the airport handles 217 domestic services and 145 international services in a week. Meanwhile, the total aircraft movement through the airport witnessed exponential growth. In the domestic sector the movement of aircraft increased from 1,271 in 1999-2000 to 14,172 in 2006-07, a growth rate of more than 1000 per cent. During the same period the flight movement in the international sector increased from 5,202 to 16,501, registering a growth rate of 217 per cent.

The flight movement, both in the domestic and international sector, through the airport is expected to grow by nearly 20 per cent in the current fiscal with the numbers expected to touch 17,006 and 19,801 respectively.

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