‘Over 15 lakh passengers flew in, out of Mumbai airport in August’

Passengers make their way into the airport in June last year. File pic

With the month of August kick-starting the festive season with Raksha Bandhan, Onam and Janmashtami celebrations, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) witnessed a sharp surge in passenger traffic. More than 15 lakh passengers flew in and out of the city last month. This includes travel to both domestic and international destinations.

For the same month last year, the airport catered to about 4 lakh passengers. This year the CSMIA played host to approximately 15,87,150 passengers with flights across domestic and international destinations in August. The airport catered to 14,02,369 domestic passengers and 1,84,787 international ones. According to a press release of the CSMIA, roughly 7,85,479 passengers arrived at CSMIA in August, while 8,01,677 passengers departed from the airport to various domestic and international destinations.

Passengers wait in a queue to enter the airport in June last year. File pic

The press release further mentions that Delhi, Bangalore and Goa have emerged as the most travelled domestic destinations with 2,42,085, 1,11,026 and 95,089 passengers travelling to these places in August, respectively.

Doha emerged as the top international destination with approximately 41,410 passengers travelling to and from CSMIA, followed by Dubai and Male with 37,126 and 18,190 passengers, respectively. Indigo, Air India and Vistara carried the highest number of passengers on domestic routes while Qatar Airways, Indigo and Air India catered to the majority of the international passengers.

"With festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami and Onam falling during the weekend in August, CSMIA witnessed an upward trend of passengers travelling to different destinations," said a press release. According to the CSMIA, the easing of restrictions has resulted in an increase in passenger traffic, and thus, a majority of Indian states and international countries require a negative RT-PCR certificate.

"Since the start of the pandemic, CSMIA has implemented numerous SOPs, including the preventive measures laid down by health and government bodies, to safeguard the well-being of passengers and airport personnel. Additionally, with the nationwide vaccination drives going on, the number of vaccinated passengers is increasing, thus, leading to the growth in demand for air travel."

8,01,677
No. of passengers who flew from the airport in August