As COVID-19 cases go down and the second wave of the pandemic subsides, the aviation sector was especially hit. However, the sector is seeing a gradual recovery as airports in the country are recording an increase in both passenger traffic and aircraft movement. According to a press release by authorities of the Cochin International Airport, the domestic sector is also picking up and has witnessed a two-fold increase in June. The airport also increased its tally in international traffic from the fourth position to the third during the period of January-May 2021.
"Cochin airport handled 5,89,460 international passengers during the five months and attained the third position after Delhi and Mumbai airports. In April, it facilitated 1,38,625 international passengers, becoming the second busiest airport in the country in terms of international traffic. During the initial five-month period, the total passenger volume registered at Cochin Airport was 15.56 lakh," the release said.
CIAL Managing Director S Suhas attributed the increase in traffic to the efficacy of the state government in establishing Kerala as one of the safest places to arrive during the pandemic, along with the company's proactive approach in making the airport a safe travel hub. “The Kerala Government installed free RT-PCR testing facilities at all airports for international passengers. An integrated travel facilitation strategy was launched at the airport wherein officials of the district administration, health, revenue and police department have been working round the clock for increasing the comfort level of the passengers," he said.
"CIAL has adopted COVID-19 protocol management at par with international standards. It implemented many innovative ideas like a UV baggage disinfestation system at the conveyor belts of both terminals. These approaches have contributed to the effort of boosting the confidence of the passengers," he added.
The press release stated that the CIAL also implemented several measures to ensure the steady growth of air traffic as per the instruction of the state government. For example, when Dubai made amendments in its travel protocol, mandating a rapid-PCR test for Indian passengers, the airport also established the same protocol immediately.
"A meeting convened by the Managing Director with all stakeholders including the representatives of airlines called for a concerted approach to ensure hassle-free movement of passengers in the terminal and increase the traffic growth. Following these participatory actions, the airport saw a steady increase in passenger volume during June 2021," the release said.
On June 1, the passenger volume was a little below 3,000 and by June 30, it had increased over two-fold to 7012. "The airport handled 1,139 aircraft movements during June. Cochin International Airport which had been handling 10 million passengers annually during the pre-pandemic period is all set to facilitate a projected surge in the aviation sector for the forthcoming months," the release added.
Recently, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad said that it had seen more than 4 lakh passengers in the month of June, 2021. The Hyderabad airport observed a surge in the number of domestic flights and also saw roughly 35,000 international travellers in the month of June.
Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on the other hand, saw a decline in traffic by 66% for the financial year 2020-21. Airport authorities said that 32.3 million passengers were recorded in FY 2019-20, but this dropped to 10.91 million passengers in 2020-21.