The Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB or BLR Airport) recorded an impressive passenger numbers recovery of 82% since CY 2019 (pre-Covid year), with a total of 27.50M passengers travelling through BLR Airport in CY 2022.
This included 85% recovery in the domestic (DOM) sector and 65% recovery in the international (INT) sector.
Several reasons including relaunching of key routes and introduction of new routes connecting leading business hubs and travel destinations contributed to the rapid recovery.
24.36M domestic passengers and 3.14M international passengers travelled through BLR Airport. The month of December recorded significant numbers.
Year-end Boost
A key observation was the sharp increase in passenger numbers during the year-end holiday season. 3.13 million passengers travelled in December 2022 (of which, 2.74 million were DOM passengers) – surpassing the pre-Covid record of 3.06 million passengers in December 2019.
On December 23, BLR Airport recorded the highest number of passengers for CY 2022 at 1,07,825 pax.
There was an impressive 98% recovery in air transport movements (ATMs) vis-à-vis pre-Covid numbers, and DOM ATMs witnessed a 100% recovery.
Overall, the domestic front has contributed significantly to the speedy recovery.
BLR Airport is a preferred hub for transfer passengers due to its regional connectivity and this has further helped in recovery of its passenger numbers. With over 100 daily departures, the share of transfer passengers increased to 15% (+5% compared to pre-Covid years).
This strengthened BLR Airport’s position as the preferred transfer / transit airport in South and Central India.
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, and Hyderabad were the top domestic routes in CY 2022, contributing approximately 40% to DOM traffic. Dubai, Male, Singapore, Doha, and Abu Dhabi were the top international routes contributing approximately 47% to INT traffic for BLR Airport.
“The Covid years were very challenging for us but despite that, we are encouraged by the steady recovery in passenger traffic,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
“Passenger comfort and seamless travel continue to be a priority and in addition to this, our cargo partnerships have contributed to our business growth.
“CY2022 also marks a significant milestone for us as we have significantly increased our operational capacity with the inauguration of the new Terminal 2 (T2) at BLR Airport.
“We believe that with the operationalisation of T2, we will be even better positioned to serve as the natural gateway to South and Central India.”
