International arrivals up 58 pc

International arrivals up 58 pc
Vijay Times

Bangalore: Stamping its growing international stature, the City has recorded a 58 per cent increase in international arrivals and 68 per cent rise in departures during the first nine months of this fiscal.

Between March and December last year, more than 2.53 lakh international arrivals were reported at the City airport as against about 1.65 lakh during the corresponding period in 2003.

For the whole of 2003-04, the total arrivals were 2,37,798 and total international departures numbered 2,70,441 during the same period with the corresponding figures for the previous year being 161,457.

Underlining the significance of the City in international aviation traffic, Bangalore Commissioner for Customs P R Chandrasekharan said the number of international flights at the City airport rose by 89 per cent and the number of passengers by 181 per cent in the last three years.
"This very well underlined the need for an International airport," he said speaking at a function at the HAL Convention Centre to celebrate the International Customs Day.

He said the Bangalore Air Cargo Complex continued to be the fastest custom station in the country in terms of time taken for clearance of goods and other performance indicators.