CHENNAI: With the state government removing travel restrictions, number of passengers and flights have started to increase at Chennai airport. Number of daily passengers has increased from around 6,000 in July to more than 7,000 in August. The number of flights too has increased from around 50 a day to close to 80 on most of the days this month.
On August 24, the airport saw 81 flights and 8,067 passengers, the highest so far after domestic flight operation resumed. Arrivals saw 4,617 passengers and departures 3,450. This shows that arrivals increased as restrictions are fewer while departures have reduced unlike the earlier trend.
An airport official said, “We are seeing a slow revival in passenger movement. This is a good sign. People will start travelling for business and trade purposes. The airlines want to add more destinations and frequencies. The number of passengers will increase further when international flights become a regular feature.” Flights to Mumbai and arrivals from Kolkata have resumed.
Number of daily flights to Delhi has increased from one or two services a month ago to six these days.
There are four daily flights to Madurai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad while there are three daily to Trichy, Coimbatore and Tuticorin. There are only arrivals from Kolkata while Maharashtra has restricted the number or flights from Mumbai to Chennai to two a day.
In June and July, a majority of the travellers were those who were making emergency trips. And many did not want to come to Chennai because of restrictions and unreliable flight schedules. Only 1,500 to 2,000 passengers used to land at Chennai airport on some of the days in the last two months.
Now, the number of arriving passengers has increased as inter-district travel restrictions have been lifted. “People land at Chennai airport and travel down to other districts by car,” said an airport official.
A senior official of AAI said that lifting of the need for e-pass and home quarantine by Karnataka is expected to see an increase in passengers on Chennai-Bengaluru sector. The airport had the most number of flights to Bengaluru in the pre-shutdown time. “It will be a good sign if at least 50% of that can be resumed, but schedules need to be tweaked in a better way to ensure sameday return flights on most of the routes,” he added.
On August 24, the airport saw 81 flights and 8,067 passengers, the highest so far after domestic flight operation resumed. Arrivals saw 4,617 passengers and departures 3,450. This shows that arrivals increased as restrictions are fewer while departures have reduced unlike the earlier trend.
An airport official said, “We are seeing a slow revival in passenger movement. This is a good sign. People will start travelling for business and trade purposes. The airlines want to add more destinations and frequencies. The number of passengers will increase further when international flights become a regular feature.” Flights to Mumbai and arrivals from Kolkata have resumed.
Number of daily flights to Delhi has increased from one or two services a month ago to six these days.
There are four daily flights to Madurai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad while there are three daily to Trichy, Coimbatore and Tuticorin. There are only arrivals from Kolkata while Maharashtra has restricted the number or flights from Mumbai to Chennai to two a day.
In June and July, a majority of the travellers were those who were making emergency trips. And many did not want to come to Chennai because of restrictions and unreliable flight schedules. Only 1,500 to 2,000 passengers used to land at Chennai airport on some of the days in the last two months.
Now, the number of arriving passengers has increased as inter-district travel restrictions have been lifted. “People land at Chennai airport and travel down to other districts by car,” said an airport official.
A senior official of AAI said that lifting of the need for e-pass and home quarantine by Karnataka is expected to see an increase in passengers on Chennai-Bengaluru sector. The airport had the most number of flights to Bengaluru in the pre-shutdown time. “It will be a good sign if at least 50% of that can be resumed, but schedules need to be tweaked in a better way to ensure sameday return flights on most of the routes,” he added.
Coronavirus outbreak
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Get the app