Mumbai airport sees 60 per cent increase in passenger traffic in June

CSMIA currently acts as a gateway to 54 domestic and 21 international destinations for passengers from Mumbai. File pic/Sameer Markande

With air travel seeming to return to normal, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has registered an increase of approximately 60% in passenger traffic for the month of June 2021 as compared to May 2021.

The airport has played host to approximately 72,61,158 passengers over 77,797 flights across domestic and international destinations in the period between January and June 2021. During this time, the airport has also catered to approximately 64,87,066 domestic passengers across 63,992 flights and over 7,74,092 international passengers across 13,805 flights.

Dubai - most popular destination

The airport has registered Dubai as its most emerging and popular international destination, having witnessed the highest traffic of over 2,13,770 passengers to and from it. This was followed by Newark with over 88,010 and Heathrow with 75,470 passengers respectively. Similarly, amongst the domestic destinations, Delhi saw the highest movement with over 9,46,890 passengers, followed by Goa with 5,42,350 and Bengaluru with 4,32,180 passengers.

The airport has registered Dubai as its most popular international destination, with highest traffic of over 2,13,770 passengers to and from it. File pic/Satej Shinde

In a press note on Thursday, CSMIA said that throughout the pandemic, the global aviation industry has been stoically continuing its efforts to ramp up the outlook for it. CSMIA currently acts as a gateway to 54 domestic destinations and 21 international destinations for passengers from Mumbai. "In the wake of the second wave of the pandemic in the country, the airport witnessed a growth of approximately 60% in passenger traffic during the month of June 2021 as compared to May 2021," said the press release. "CSMIA also saw the addition of new routes and destinations on domestic destinations like Dharbhanga, Adampur, and Kalaburagi amongst others as well as international destinations like Batam, Armenia, Miami and Houston to name a few," the release added.

Testing facilities available

Although the passenger traffic is increasing steadily, the majority of Indian states as well as international countries require a negative RT-PCR certificate, pointed out CSMIA. In order to make passenger travel hassle-free, CSMIA has established over 30 counters of testing facilities for COVID-19 at Terminal 2 for international and domestic passengers. For passengers who want a quicker result, CSMIA has a facility for an express test that provides prompt and accurate diagnosis in 13 minutes. Moreover, the airport has also taken a step further towards passenger safety by allowing Mylab Discovery Solutions a space to set up an RT-PCR testing counter, and to facilitate the processing of the sample for a quick turnaround. The additional facility has been introduced to offer a speedy report to the arriving passengers.

"With the ease of restrictions in various states and unhindered passenger confidence in the airport's safety measures, CSMIA expects a steady passenger flow going forward," said the press release. "The airport is working diligently with its stakeholders, regulatory and government bodies to implement and communicate necessary protocols and procedures for passengers and personnel's safety at the airport," it added.

"With passenger traffic increasing steadily, CSMIA's efforts in this regard as well as the passenger confidence in the safety initiatives and protocols adopted by the airport will help in boosting traffic in the coming months," said a CSMIA spokesperson in a press statement.