The Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru reported a decrease in passenger traffic by 66% in the financial year of 2020-21. The decrease was due to the travel curbs and lockdowns imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport recorded 32.3 million passengers in FY 2019-20, but this figure dropped to 10.91 million passengers in 2020-21. Domestic air travel in India resumed only on May 25 2021 following a two month suspension due to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statistics shared by the airport stated that it recorded 10.45 million domestic passengers, a 63% drop compared to the 27 million in the previous financial year. International passengers were down to 0.46 million, a 90% decline from the 4 million passengers recorded in 2019-20. Although the airport showed signs of recovery in the second half of 2020, the traffic data for the year 2020-21 still showed a significant decline from previous years. "Total Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) dropped by 50% to 113,993 from 231,051, in 2020-21. Cargo processed during FY2020-21 was 326,643 Metric Tonnes (MT), 12.70% short of last fiscal’s 374,181 MT," a press statement by a spokesperson for the airport said.
Traffic at the airport was also disrupted briefly during Aero India 2021, which was held at the Yelahanka air base earlier in January this year. As the third largest in the country after Mumbai and New Delhi, the Kempegowda International Airport is the first in south India to have parallel runways with two additional taxiways. The upgraded runway of the city became operational for flights in March this year. The upgraded north airstrip offers the airport to operate both runways even in low visibility and adverse weather conditions.