Vizag airport crosses 29lakh mark in passenger footfalls in 202324 fiscal

The Visakhapatnam International Airport is about to begin the new financial year on a high, with the commencement of international flights to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok and an additional flight each to Hyderabad and Delhi. Roundtheclock operations will also resume with effect from April 1.

Another feather in the cap for the airport was the passenger footfall which crossed preCOVID19 levels to record a new high of 29 lakh in the current financial year.

In the last 10 years, the passengers handled by the airport peaked at 28,54,118 during 201819. The next year, there was a slight decline with the passenger traffic sliding down to 26,91,581 due to cancellation of flights in March 2020, with the pandemic spreading across the globe.

There was a drastic fall in 202021 with the airport handling only 11,14,704 passengers due to the cancellation of a number of flights, both international and domestic, due to the pandemic. In 202122, the numbers started picking up and increased to 16,31,316 with the reintroduction of flights in a phased manner. In 202223, the airport showed good signs of recovery with the resumption of most flights operating to and from Vizag airport, and the passenger footfall increased to 25,00,789. However, it was still well below preCOVID levels. The two new international flights will operate thrice a week. The flight to Bangkok will operate from April 9 and the one to Kuala Lumpur from April 26. The new domestic daily flights to Hyderabad and Delhi will start on March 31.

Meanwhile, Indian Navy has completed the runway resurfacing work at the airport ahead of schedule.