The airport makes an impressive post-COVID recovery.
Story so far: 27.5 million passengers travelled through the Kempegowda Internation Airport (KIA) in 2022, making a record 82% recovery of passenger traffic to the pre-COVID years. Re-introducing key routes and expanding present routes that link leading business hubs and travel destinations contributed to the airport’s gradual recovery. By adding 16 new courses, KIA expanded its connectivity to 75 termini.
- The final month of 2022 broke pre-COVID records since the airport drew in 3.13 million passengers. Air transport movement witnessed a 98% recovery while domestic travel reached the pre-pandemic levels entirely.
- In 2022, the airport ranked first in handling air-cargo perishables for the second time. It is also the third busiest airport in India, trailing behind the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai.
New destinations: Most airports restarted their operations fully in 2022. The opening up of international travel restarted Air India’s thrice-weekly BLR – San Francisco flights. KIA also introduced a direct flight between BLR and Sydney and an A380 service to Dubai.
- On the domestic destinations front, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, and Hyderabad emerged at the top, accounting for 40% of KIA’s domestic traffic.
- On the international destinations front, Dubai, Male, Singapore, Doha, and Abu Dhabi took the lead, accounting for 47% of KIA’s international traffic.