Bengaluru’s Kempegowda Worldwide Airport has persistently surpassed Chennai Worldwide Airport in dealing with worldwide passengers since October 2024.
Bengaluru’s Kempegowda Worldwide Airport.
Though Chennai maintained a slight lead in September, accommodating practically 5,000 extra worldwide vacationers than Bengaluru, the pattern shifted the next month, with Bengaluru pulling forward and sustaining the lead within the subsequent months, as per information from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), The Hindu Enterprise Line reported.
Passenger figures for January 2025 are but to be launched.
In response to AAI information, worldwide flight actions at Chennai Airport rose from 3,291 in December 2023 to three,397 in December 2024, marking a rise of 106 flights. In the meantime, Bengaluru witnessed a much more vital surge, with plane actions climbing from 2,497 in December 2023 to three,200 in December 2024, a rise of 703 flights, the report added.
This surge highlights the fast growth of Bengaluru’s worldwide aviation footprint, in line with the report.
Whereas Chennai Worldwide Airport is managed by the AAI, Bengaluru’s airport is operated by a personal entity, which specialists consider has given it an edge in attracting worldwide carriers. A big variety of enterprise vacationers from Chennai at the moment are opting to fly through Bengaluru resulting from its superior connectivity to international locations.
(Additionally Learn: Karnataka farmer chief injured in accident airlifted from Patiala, hospitalized in Bengaluru)
In October 2024 alone, Bengaluru’s worldwide passenger visitors stood at 4.9 lakh, marking a 24.3 per cent year-on-year enhance, surpassing Chennai’s 4.5 lakh passengers. Whereas Chennai led in worldwide visitors from April to October 2024—dealing with 3.36 million passengers in comparison with Bengaluru’s 3.17 million—Bengaluru’s continued growth in international connectivity has firmly established it as considered one of India’s main worldwide aviation hubs. In FY 2023-24, Bengaluru dealt with over 37 million passengers, underscoring its rising prominence.
Chennai airport challenges
One of many largest challenges Chennai Airport faces is its restricted land availability, proscribing additional growth. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu lately identified that Chennai Airport occupies simply 1,300 acres, considerably smaller than main Indian airports similar to Delhi (5,100 acres), Hyderabad (5,500 acres), and Bengaluru (4,008 acres).
(Additionally Learn: Bengaluru bike taxi rip-off? Driver calls for cost earlier than trip, then disappears)