Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport), said it has seen robust growth in international flight operations, connecting 23 international destinations in May – the highest in South India. The airport continues to expand its international network and has also emerged as a major transfer hub in South India, supporting the development of India’s growing aviation sector. BLR Airport witnessed 15 percent higher international movements per day between March and April and 48 percent growth in movements in May. Additionally, average daily international traffic increased to 9,300 passengers by the fourth week of May compared to 6,500 in April and 5,500 in March.
Major regions which have witnessed significant growth:
- Europe has witnessed a robust growth of 50 percent on a month-on-month basis in daily movements with growth across all four European sectors.
- Southeast Asia has also witnessed 40 percent growth in average daily movements in May compared to Apr due to the gradual relaxation of entry regulations in many Asian countries.
- The Middle East also continues to see strong growth of 20 percent month-on-month in daily movements.
BLR said it achieved significant milestones in enhancing connectivity and planning new international routes. Qantas will begin four weekly flights to Sydney from September and United Airlines is scheduled to begin daily flights to San Francisco in the last quarter of this year. Two weekly flights to Tel Aviv (Air India) and daily flights to Seattle (American Airlines) are also planned for the near future. Additionally, new routes launched a few months before the outbreak of the pandemic are already re-connected. Addis Ababa, (connected by Ethiopian Airlines), Amsterdam (by KLM), and Tokyo Narita (by Japan Airlines) have been reinstated. Japan Airlines will increase frequency to Tokyo Narita to thrice a week, effective August, and KLM plans to further increase frequency on Bengaluru-Amsterdam from the current three weekly frequencies to four-times-a-week beginning in July. Airlines currently operating at BLR Airport are expected to serve most of their international pre-covid non-stop destinations by Q2 of FY23.
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