Domestic air traffic spirals

Domestic passenger traffic has witnessed a steep ascent at Tiruchi international airport since the introduction of daily flight services to the country’s commercial and political capitals — Mumbai and New Delhi — in March-end.

Statistics show a over two-fold rise in passenger movement in the domestic sector in April and May as compared to the corresponding months of the previous fiscal.

With new services expected to be launched from June 28 in Tiruchi-Bengaluru and Tiruchi-Kochi sector, the non-metro airport is all set for more robust traffic in the current fiscal.

Until March-end, Tiruchi airport had direct domestic connectivity only to Chennai. Expansion of air links got a fillip when Jet Airways launched operations in the New Delhi-Mumbai-Tiruchi-Mumbai-New Delhi sector.

Unlike the Chennai route where smaller ATR-type aircraft is in operation, the private airline has been operating its to-and-fro service in the New Delhi-Mumbai-Tiruchi sector with a Boeing 737-800 type flight with a seating capacity exceeding 160. The patronage in the sector has been good with the occupancy ranging between 80 and 85%, airline sources said here.

According to Airports Authority of India (AAI) data, the number of domestic travellers at Tiruchi airport in April was 19,758, a over two-fold rise when compared to the corresponding month figure of 9,429 in 2017.

In May too, there was heavy movement in the sector, said airport authorities. Domestic traffic rose to a little over 20,000 in May, while it was 9,638 in the corresponding month of the previous year.

With the entry of another private airline IndiGo, stakeholders feel that domestic movement is poised to soar further.

Travel industry circles here say airliners may seriously explore operating flight services in the Tiruchi-Hyderabad sector, given the industrial connection between the two cities.

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