With international borders finally open and regular international flights reinstated, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) witnessed around 6.3 lakh passenger movements in the first month. From March 27 to April 27, the Mumbai Airport witnessed nearly 120 daily movements to a total of 41 international destinations.
The first month witnessed a total of around 2.8 lakh international passengers arriving and around 3.5 lakh international passengers departing from the CSMIA, read a statement released by the airport authorities. A total of 3,720 movements to the international routes were observed. IndiGo, Air India and Emirates emerged as the top airlines catering to the highest international passenger traffic to and from the CSMIA.
Pre-pandemic, of the total 51 international destinations for which CSMIA catered, 44.8 per cent were Middle Eastern countries, 25.8 per cent were Asia Pacific countries, 20 per cent European countries, 5.9 per cent to African countries and 3.5 per cent to America based destinations.
According to the statement, Dubai emerged as a top destination with approx. 1.62 lakh passengers travel in a month. While Abu Dhabi and Singapore, ranked second and third respectively, wherein they witnessed high passenger traffic from the CSMIA with 0.43 lakh and 0.40 lakh passenger movement respectively.
Moreover, the CSMIA also flagged off its summer schedule on March 27 with nearly 5,000 weekly domestic & international flights, which is set to see an increase of 111 per cent over the airport's previous financial year roster. This summer schedule is curated to suit the growing traffic, with almost a 70 per cent rise in the number of flights compared to the 418 daily traffic schedule of 2021.
Gearing up for the pent-up demand for travel and the excitement of summer holidays, the CSMIA is more than ready to continue to cater to the growing demand while adhering to mandated covid norms and regulations. From March 27, all international passengers are required to show only their vaccination certificates to travel internationally, while those without a double vaccination certificate would require a negative RT PCR test report taken not less than 72 hours before boarding the flight. Whereas passengers departing from Mumbai will continue to abide by the norms laid down by the destination country.
