Bengaluru, Delhi top air traffic growth in 2016

Airports in Bengaluru and Delhi showed the fastest growth in passenger traffic in 2016 among global peers, with a surge in domestic air travel and the introduction of new routes. 

With a 22.5% growth, Bengaluru airport was ranked first among airports handling 15 million-plus passengers annually. Delhi, which recorded 21% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth, bagged the first position ahead of Incheon (South Korea) and Kunming (China), among airports handling 40 million-plus passengers a year. The slot constrained Mumbai airport, which registered a growth of 9.9% and took the fifth position behind Delhi and the East Asian airports. 

Bengaluru and Delhi handed 22.2 million and 55.6 million passengers, respectively in 2016.

The ranking was released earlier this week in a report by the Airports Council International, a trade association of world airports. Delhi continues to show highest growth in the current year, and has recorded 14.9% growth in the first eight months. 

Domestic air traffic rose 23% y-o-y to 99.8 million, making India the fastest-growing air travel market in 2016. The trend continues and in first eight months of 2017, traffic rose nearly 17%, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.  

“Slots are not available at the Mumbai airport, and airlines have added new flights from Delhi and Bengaluru. On domestic routes, IndiGo and Vistara have led the capacity expansion, while Air India introduced new international flights from Delhi to San Francisco and Madrid in end-2015 and -2016, respectively,” said Ameya Joshi, founder of aviation blog, Network Thoughts.

In fact, traffic growth at Bengaluru airport is faster than estimated, and the airport crossed 22 million passengers in 2016, a year ahead of the estimate. Last December, Bengaluru airport handled 2.15 million passengers, the highest-ever traffic recorded in a month by an airport in southern India. 

Hari Marar, executive director and president of Bangalore International Airport Limited said in July, “Bengaluru airport continues to see fantastic growth in passenger volumes. The construction of the second runway and terminal, and other associated projects are now a priority.” 

However, the rapid growth in air travel is putting a strain on airport infrastructure across the country, and even Delhi and Bengaluru airports are staring at shortage of slots. 

The GMR Group plans to invest Rs 16,000 crore for expansion of the Delhi airport that will double the capacity of domestic terminal T1, increase the capacity of international terminal T3, lay a new runway, and build a new terminal over the next seven years.   

The situation is no better at the Airport Authority of India (AAI)-run airports; 25 of 126 airports managed by AAI have reached a saturation point. Over the next two to three years, seven more airports, including Varanasi, Raipur, and Indore will reach peak capacity. Both Chennai and Kolkata will require a second airport, and the AAI has asked state governments to identify land for the same.