Thiruvananthapuram: Riding high on expatriates toiling in West Asia, whose remittances have been a big boost to the state's economy, airports in Kerala have been catering to more international than domestic passengers. But the state is set to witness a dramatic turnaround with domestic traffic making rapid strides and on the verge of overtaking international passenger volume.
Last fiscal's statistics from Cochin International Airport and Trivandrum International Airport show that they have narrowed down the gap between domestic and international passengers to about 47:53 and it is expected that domestic traffic will begin within a year or two.
The trend in Kerala's airports was in sharp contrast to the passenger break-up at Delhi and Mumbai airports where domestic passengers outnumber those going overseas.
When it comes to Cochin International Airport, out of the 1 crore passengers who travelled through the airport last fiscal, 52 lakh were international passengers and 48 lakh were domestic travellers. Domestic passenger traffic registered a 22 per cent increase from the previous fiscal, while international traffic grew by just four per cent.
Of the 44 lakh passengers who passed through Trivandrum airport last fiscal, 56 per cent were international, while 44 per cent were domestic travellers. In 2016-17, the break-up was 65 and 35 per cent, respectively. The growth rate was 22 per cent in domestic and 8 per cent in international passengers, giving ample evidence that domestic traffic is on the verge of surpassing international traffic at the state's two major airports.
But at Calicut International Airport, overseas traffic still holds considerable sway as the growth was almost at a par with domestic traffic last fiscal. The number of overseas passengers rose from 22 lakh to 26 lakh, while domestic travellers increased from 4.3 lakh to 5.1 lakh.
According to Trivandrum airport director George G Tharakan, the growth in domestic traffic has been high in recent years and the time is not far away when domestic passengers will outnumber international ones in Kerala.
21/04/18 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express
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Last fiscal's statistics from Cochin International Airport and Trivandrum International Airport show that they have narrowed down the gap between domestic and international passengers to about 47:53 and it is expected that domestic traffic will begin within a year or two.
The trend in Kerala's airports was in sharp contrast to the passenger break-up at Delhi and Mumbai airports where domestic passengers outnumber those going overseas.
When it comes to Cochin International Airport, out of the 1 crore passengers who travelled through the airport last fiscal, 52 lakh were international passengers and 48 lakh were domestic travellers. Domestic passenger traffic registered a 22 per cent increase from the previous fiscal, while international traffic grew by just four per cent.
Of the 44 lakh passengers who passed through Trivandrum airport last fiscal, 56 per cent were international, while 44 per cent were domestic travellers. In 2016-17, the break-up was 65 and 35 per cent, respectively. The growth rate was 22 per cent in domestic and 8 per cent in international passengers, giving ample evidence that domestic traffic is on the verge of surpassing international traffic at the state's two major airports.
But at Calicut International Airport, overseas traffic still holds considerable sway as the growth was almost at a par with domestic traffic last fiscal. The number of overseas passengers rose from 22 lakh to 26 lakh, while domestic travellers increased from 4.3 lakh to 5.1 lakh.
According to Trivandrum airport director George G Tharakan, the growth in domestic traffic has been high in recent years and the time is not far away when domestic passengers will outnumber international ones in Kerala.
21/04/18 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express
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