Bhubaneswar Airport Posts 17% Growth In International Traffic

New Delhi: The Biju Patnaik International Airport here saw a robust 17 per cent growth in international passenger traffic movement between April to December, 2018. During this period, passenger traffic in this segment stood at 74,124 as against 63,386 during the corresponding period of 2017, Airport Authority of India (AAI) said in its latest release.

In December , the airport registered a movement of 6695 international passengers, though it was a 46 per cent decline then the corresponding month of the previous year due to multiple factors. International aircraft movement had come down from 80 to 60 during this month.

Air India and Air Asia are the two operators that provide direct connectivity from the airport to Bangkok and Malaysia. Indications are that there would be a significant jump in international passenger traffic following the grant of the e-visa facility. A e-visa counter has started operating at the airport from January 16 onwards.

In the domestic segment, the airport continued to sustain its growth momentum that stood at 37.3 per cent between April to December. It handled 30.22 lakh passengers during this period as against 22.01 lakh passengers during the same period last year. Varanasi and Tirupati were the only major airports who eclipsed Bhubaneswar airport in the passenger growth rate, even as the total passengers handled remained below the Biju Patnaik Airport.

Its performance in handling the freight traffic also remained strong. According to the AAI data, the growth witnessed in this segment (both domestic and international) was 17.2 per cent.

Between April and December, aircraft movement (domestic and international) stood at an impressive 22,577, a 41.8 per cent growth.