Passenger traffic increases at Mysuru Airport post unlock

MYSURU: Five weeks after the state government lifted the lockdown in Mysuru district, air traffic is picking up. Ahead of Dasara season, it is expected to improve, the authorities stated. In June about 2,988 passengers had used Mysuru Airport.
Meanwhile, the cancellation of direct flights to Chennai affected numerous passengers. A new direct flight service by a private airline to Chennai is expected to commence from Friday.
According to data, in June 2021, a total 2,988 passengers used this airport located in Mandakalli on the Mysuru-Nanjangud road. In June 2020, this number was 3,158. However, in the three months between April-June, the number of passengers grew by several folds. Between April-June 2020, a total of 3,647 passengers had used the airport. However, this number was 14,220 in the period between April-June 2021.
This trend is reflected even in the movement of aircraft. In June 2020, the airport had recorded 330 aircraft. However, in June 2021, only 224 aircraft were operated from the city airport.
Now flights are being operated to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Goa, and Cochin from the airport. “Chennai was one of the popular routes. Cancellation of the direct flight affected the passengers,” said B S Prashanth, president of the Mysuru Travel Association.
However, after the lockdown the passenger load at the airport increased substantially on all the major routes. Airport director R Manjunath informed that on all the routes, 50% to 60% passenger load is being reported. “Now the passenger movement has picked up,” he said.