Flier footfall takes off at Mumbai airport

Passengers walk out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on May 15

With the pandemic-triggered clouds clearing, shinier days are back at the city's international airport. In the first six months of this year, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has recorded a 132 per cent jump in traffic compared to the same period in 2021.

Between January and June, the airport recorded nearly 1.7 crore passengers and 1.3 lakh flight movements - domestic and international - signalling the revival of operations that were severely curtailed for nearly two years.

Domestic fliers at the city airport, in March. Pics/Shadab Khan and Satej Shinde

Figures released by the airport showed that 1.33 crore domestic passengers travelled through 97,460 flights in the first half of this year. Delhi, Bengaluru and Goa were among the top preferred domestic destinations of Mumbaikars.

International travel increased by 97 per cent as comapred to the first half of 2021. Around 17.6 lakh passengers used the Mumbai airport for overseas travel last year, while the number soared to 34.8 lakh (24,910 flights) between January and June 2022.

The airport also catered to the highest international load in June, with 8,30,000 passengers, of this year so far. Dubai, Doha and Sharjah were the top international destinations. May 21 saw the highest single-day traffic of 1,23,442 passengers in the six months.

To amplify the growth of air traffic and travel, the airport has introduced connectivity to Abu Dhabi, Najaf, Phuket, Warsaw, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Airlines such as Air Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Fly Baghdad, IndiGo, LOT Polish and VietJet have commenced their operations on these routes.

The airport is also adding nine new destinations to its basket, including Bahrain, Ras Al-Khaimah, Toronto and Helsinki.