COVID recovery: Mumbai international airport sees 60% jump in June passenger footfall

Mumbai international airport has registered an increase of around 60% in passenger traffic in June 2021 as compared to the previous month of May (2021). 

With the easing of COVID-induced lockdown curbs across the country, the increase in passenger traffic at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) reflects consumer travel optimism.

CSMIA played host to a total of around 72,61,158 passengers on over 77,797 flights across domestic and international destinations in the period between January and June 2021, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said in a statement on Thursday. 

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During the said time period, the airport catered to approx. 64,87,066 domestic passengers across 63,992 flights and over 7,74,092 international passengers across 13,805 ATMs, it further stated, adding that CSMIA registered Dubai emerging as the most popular international destination, having witnessed the highest traffic of over 2,13,770 passengers to and from CSMIA.

This was followed by Newark with over 88,010 and Heathrow with 75,470 passengers respectively. Similarly, amongst domestic destinations, Delhi saw the highest movements with over 9,46,890 passengers, followed by Goa with 5,42,350 and Bengaluru with 4,32,180 passengers respectively.

"With the ease of restrictions of various states and unhindered passenger confidence in the airport's safety measures, CSMIA expects a steady passenger flow going forward. The airport is working diligently with its stakeholders, regulatory and government bodies to implement and communicate necessary protocols and procedures for passengers and personnel's safety at the airport," said MIAL.

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CSMIA currently acts as a gateway to 54 domestic destinations and 21 international destinations for passengers from Mumbai.

The airport also saw addition of new routes to domestic destinations like Dharbhanga, Adampur and Kalaburagi amongst others as well as international destinations like Batam, Armenia, Miami, and Houston.

While passenger traffic is increasing steadily, the majority of Indian states, as well as international countries, require a negative RT-PCR certificate. Keeping this in view, CSMIA established over 30 counters of testing facilities at Terminal 2 set up for international and domestic passengers.

For passengers wanting a quicker result, the airport also has a facility for an express test that provides prompt and accurate diagnosis in 13 minutes.

Furthermore, CSMIA has also set up an RT-PCR testing counter to facilitate the processing of the sample for a quick turnaround. The additional facility has been introduced for convenience and to offer a speedy report to the arriving passengers.