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Akasa Air’s launch has helped Bengaluru airport outpace other metros in domestic air traffic after three years in FY2023, data from Airport Authority of India (AAI) shows.
On 7 August 2022, Akasa Air started its operations with two daily Mumbai-Ahmedabad flights. India’s youngest low-cost carrier, however, has made Bengaluru its home given availability of night parking bays.
The airline parks 16 of its 20 Boeing 737 Max planes at Bengaluru and operates around 30 daily flights from there.
According to AAI data, Bengaluru airport handled 28.1 million domestic passengers in FY2023 registering 85 per cent year-on year-growth.
In absolute terms, the airport is ranked third behind Delhi and Mumbai. However in percentage terms, Bengaluru’s growth was higher than that of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.
Also read: IndiGo announces salary hike for pilots after record Q1 profit
In April-June quarter FY2024 too, Bengaluru reported higher growth than the other metros. The airport handled 8.4 million domestic passengers, a rise of 35.5 per cent over same period last year.
In July, Bengaluru airport witnessed around 275 daily departures and handled 41,000 departing passengers, a growth of 18 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.
“Bengaluru airport’s traffic growth in FY23 has been significantly influenced by Akasa Air’s decision to establish its first base here. This move has led to the addition of approximately 38 daily departures from the airport in the past year, surpassing the number of departures added by any other carriers operating from here,” said Satyaki Raghunath, chief strategy and development officer, Bangalore International Airport Limited.
Akasa Air is the third largest domestic airline at Bengaluru after IndiGo and AirAsia India, which have around 160 and 40 domestic departures daily, respectively.
Network rejig
In recent weeks however, Akasa Air has carried out a network rejig reducing its daily departures from Bengaluru to around 30. It has added flights from Mumbai utilising slots of Go First that has suspended flights since May 2.
According to Ameya Joshi, founder of aviation blog Network Thoughts, Akasa Air chose Bengaluru as its main base due to congestion in Delhi and Mumbai. The addition of a second runway and a new terminal in Bengaluru has helped increase its handling capacity.
“The lack of attention towards Bengaluru by every carrier except IndiGo and stagnant fleet of AirAsia India helped Akasa Air have a sizable presence and scale up to number three in capacity at Bengaluru,” Joshi added.
"We anticipate a stronger rebound in air traffic during the latter half of the year as carriers can fully capitalize on their expanded fleet. This growth should help the aviation industry recover from the effects of the lean season and lead to a more positive outlook in the coming months, “ Raghunath added.
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