Five years on, Kalaburagi Airport sees decline in flight operations and passengers
The Hindu
With a decline in the number of flight operations, the Kalaburagi Airport, which became operational five years ago, seems to be moving out of the radar of domestic airlines.
With a decline in the number of flight operations, the Kalaburagi Airport, which became operational five years ago, seems to be moving out of the radar of domestic airlines.
After the initial hiccups and COVID-19 debacle, the airport had received good patronage to begin with. However, now data from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) shows that the number of flights operating to Kalaburagi from various destinations has dropped by 54% when compared to 2021. A total of 2,157 flights operated from Kalaburagi Airport during 2021, but it has now come down to 1,177 flights in 2024 (till November).
The airport also witnessed a decline in passenger footfall. From 88,474 air passengers in 2021, the airport saw a drastic drop to 39,434 (44%) in 2024 (till November end).
The airport had recorded hyper passenger traffic with 9,117 travelers in March 2022 - the highest so far; while it recorded the lowest of 1,040 in November 2024. (Around 391 passengers travelled from 20 flight schedules in May 2020 during COVID-19)
Though a few private airlines operated for some time from Kalaburagi Airport to cities like Delhi (Hindon), Tirupati, and Mumbai, they pulled back their services due to decline in number of passengers. Though there were enough passengers in the beginning, the numbers dwindled later forcing the airlines to stop their operations.
Airport director Mahesh Chilka said they had approached several airlines such as Indigo, Spice jet, Air India Express, and Akasa Air for adding more destinations from Kalaburagi Airport to Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mangaluru, but they did not respond positively.
At present, only Star Air is operating between Kalaburagi and Bengaluru thrice a week, while Air Alliance stopped its operations during the winter season and may resume very soon, Mr. Chilka said. Both airlines were also facing maintenance issues as they were dependent on government subsidies, he added.
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