Mangaluru International Airport sees sluggish footfall after Kannur airport opens

MANGALURU: Although airport authorities put the drop in passenger traffic down to flight cancellations, Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), which operates out of Bajpe, has recorded negative growth ever since Kannur International Airport (KIA) was opened in December last year.

Data from MIA shows KIA in Kerala, about 150km away from Mangaluru, has poached passengers. For example in January, the number of international flights dropped by 25.3% and international passengers by 18% compared to January 2018.

In January 2018, 446 international flights operated from Mangaluru, while this year, only 333 international flights have landed in MIA. The airport saw a total 54,540 international passengers in January 2019 against 67,194 passengers in January 2018.

Even domestic passenger footfall, which authorities had expected to rise, has taken a hit. It has nosedived by 18% in January 2019, despite it being the holiday season. Only 1.2 lakh domestic passengers were handled this January, while it was 1.4 lakh last January.

In December 2018, the number of international aircraft landing in Mangaluru fell to 346 compared to 445 in December 2017. There was also a corresponding negative growth of 17.4% in passengers. Similarly, the number of domestic passengers passing through also fell — by 13.1% in December 2018. The drop in traffic — both flights and passengers — coincided with the opening of KIA. In November 2018, international passengers as well as flight movement were positive. International passengers in 2018 saw a surge of 7.8% and flight movement was up by 4.1%. However, there was negative growth in domestic passenger footfall which saw fall of 11.4%. Those working at MIA admitted KIA operations have hit business. They say flight fares from KIA to GCC countries are much cheaper compared to fares of MIA. “Ever since operation began at KIA from December, there is less footfall of passengers from Kerala and as well parts of Madikeri,” says a porter at MIA, who wished to remain anonymous.

‘Cancellation of flights from Sept 2018 the reason’

However, VV Rao, director, MIA, speaking to TOI, denied KIA is poaching MIA passengers and pointed out that negative growth is due to cancellation of several international and domestic flights from September 2018.

“The flights were cancelled due to operational reasons,” Rao said.

“Some domestic flights operate as per seat bookings. As a result, the passenger footfall and flights movement have seen a negative growth. We hope that it will pick up by April as there are chances that operations will turn normal.”