Air traffic at Bangalore airport soaring high

Air traffic at Bangalore airport soaring high

The Hindu

It is next only to Mumbai, Delhi in terms of domestic traffic

BANGALORE: It is not just road traffic that is increasing in Bangalore. Even air traffic is growing by leaps and bounds at the Bangalore airport.

Such is the increase in air traffic that the Bangalore airport has become the third busiest airport in the country in terms of domestic traffic and fourth in terms of total traffic including cargo.

This was revealed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy at a meeting of airline operators convened by him in Bangalore on Tuesday to invite their suggestions on the civil aviation infrastructure development in the State.

Bangalore, which registered a movement of 69,670 aircraft in 2005-06, is next only to Mumbai and Delhi in terms of domestic traffic. If cargo is taken into consideration, then Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai are placed above Bangalore.

In fact, the air traffic in Bangalore airport has grown at a rate of 50 per cent in the first six months of the year and the volume of traffic is estimated to be around 10 million by 2010, he said. The Chief Minister said that the international airport coming at Devanahalli would be ready for operations by April 2008, according to the schedule.

Referring to the importance of air connectivity to the overall growth of the economy, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he was keen to make the State a hub in the civil aviation sector.