Mumbai, May 28: Bengaluru airport has overtaken Mumbai to become the second busiest airport for domestic passenger traffic in the country, according to the April traffic data from the Airports Authority of India. According to a report in Businessline, this shift has occurred amidst capacity constraints at Mumbai airport and significant expansion of aviation infrastructure in Bengaluru.
Though Mumbai airport still holds an overall lead, due to its higher proportion of international traffic, Bengaluru saw more domestic passenger numbers than Mumbai in April this year.
Domestic Traffic Trends
As per the data released, Bengaluru airport handled 3.17 million domestic passengers in April, while Mumbai airport saw a domestic traffic count of 2.89 million.
Mumbai's domestic passenger traffic also saw a 12.1% dip year-on-year, while its domestic aircraft movement declined by 3.3% compared to April last year.
Industry experts also cited that the shifting of domestic operations to Navi Mumbai airport, which started its operations last December, was one of the main reasons for the drop in domestic traffic at Mumbai airport. The newer airport has seen a massive rise in traffic during the current summer schedule.
Growth at Navi Mumbai Airport
The Navi Mumbai airport handled 5.24 lakh passengers in the month of April and has recorded an increase of 2.3 times more than March's passenger traffic. The airport has now become the 10th busiest airport for domestic traffic in the country.
Airlines like IndiGo have also shifted some of their domestic routes from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai airport. Some of the routes which were operating from Mumbai airport before and were previously serviced exclusively from Mumbai are now exclusively operated from Navi Mumbai airport, such as Ayodhya, Agra, Hindon, Jabalpur and Tirupati.
Infrastructure Expansion in Bengaluru
Industry analysts observed that Bengaluru airport, for the first time excluding the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, registered more domestic traffic than Mumbai airport.
“Covid-19 pandemic period was exceptional. If you exclude that, Bengaluru airport has beaten Mumbai in domestic traffic for the first time,” an industry analyst told Businessline. The analysts also noticed that Mumbai airport still has capacity constraints, whereas Bengaluru airport's operational capabilities have been enhanced substantially in recent years.
The airport added a second runway and a second terminal in 2019 and 2022, which facilitated it to cater to additional flights and passenger traffic.
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Airlines Boost Bengaluru Operations Base
The domestic traffic at Bengaluru airport has shown significantly higher growth than the airports in Mumbai and Delhi in the financial years FY25 and FY26.
IndiGo and Air India Group have both boosted their operations in Bengaluru in the recent past. According to analysts, IndiGo now has its second largest hub in Bengaluru after Delhi, and both IndiGo and Air India Group have positioned Bengaluru as their primary operations hub.
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