BLR Airport achieves strong growth in international traffic with highest international connectivity among all South Indian Airports

• International Air Traffic Movement (ATM) increased by 48% in May ’22 vs. March ’22
• Processed an average of 9300 daily international passengers during the last week of May 2022, with a 66 % recovery to pre-Covid.
• Currently serving 23 international destinations with new international routes planned to Sydney, San Francisco, Tel Aviv and Seattle

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport), has witnessed robust growth in international flight operations, connecting 23 international destinations in May’22 – the highest in South India. The Airport continues to expand its international network and has also emerged as a major transfer hub in South India, supporting the development of India’s growing aviation sector.

BLR Airport witnessed 15% higher International ATMs per day between Mar ’22 and April ’22 and 48% growth in ATMs in May ’22 alone. Additionally, average daily international traffic increased to 9,300 passengers by the fourth week of May ’22, compared to 6,500 in April ’22 and 5,500 in March ’22.

Major regions which have witnessed significant growth:

• Europe has witnessed a robust growth of 50% on a month-on-month basis in daily ATMs with growth across all four European sectors
• Southeast Asia has also witnessed 40% growth in average daily ATMs in May’22 compared to Apr’22 due to the gradual relaxation of entry regulations in many Asian countries.
• The Middle East also continues to see strong growth of 20% month-on-month in daily ATMs

Connecting new International Routes

BLR airport achieved significant milestones in enhancing connectivity and planning new international routes in CY 2022 –

• Qantas will begin four weekly flights to Sydney from September 14, 2022
• United Airlines is scheduled to begin daily flights to San Francisco in the last quarter of this year
• Two weekly flights to Tel Aviv (Air India) and daily flights to Seattle (American Airlines) are also planned for the near future. Additionally, new routes launched a few months before the outbreak of the pandemic are already re-connected. Addis Ababa, (connected by Ethiopian Airlines), Amsterdam (by KLM), and Tokyo Narita (by Japan Airlines) have been reinstated. Japan Airlines will increase frequency to Tokyo Narita to thrice a week, effective Aug ’22, and KLM plans to further increase frequency on Bengaluru-Amsterdam from the current 3 weekly frequencies to four-times-a-week beginning Jul’22.

Airlines currently operating at BLR Airport are expected to serve most of their international pre-covid non-stop destinations by Q2 of FY23.

BLR Airport as the Preferred Airport in South India

South India contributes to 30% of the National GDP, and Karnataka is leading the growth story of the entire southern region. The major factor for the Airport’s growth includes suitable geographical positioning, covering 23 catchment cities within 75 minutes of flying time from BLR Airport. This leads to a well-balanced traffic contribution to all major international destinations globally. BLR Airport and its catchment areas contribute 44% to Southeast Asia, 43% to the USA, 37% to North America, 33% to Europe, and 23% to Africa (in all Indian traffic to global regions and countries).

Growth in Transfer Passengers

Combined with extensive connectivity to regional and non-metro routes, BLR has witnessed 2x growth in transfer traffic share over the past years. This growth can be attributed to BLR Airport’s geographical positioning, extensive air connectivity, simple and seamless single terminal transfer experience, and exceptional travel experiences offered to transfer passengers through world-class infrastructure and facilities.  Passengers can take advantage of a wide array of shopping, dining, and unwinding options at BLR Airport, including excellent service and the best of hospitality at the newly unveiled 080 Lounges and Transit Hotel during their stopover. With the opening of Terminal 2, BLR Airport is expected to add more dimensions to the transfer experience and develop it as the ‘New Gateway to India’.

Currently, the Airport is extensively connected to 76 domestic destinations, which has further amplified the growth in transfer passenger traffic. The transfer traffic flow has helped strengthen loads on other domestic and international routes as well. Moreover, with this catchment area serving a population of 256 million people, which is almost 1/5th of India’s population, BLR Airport is leading the aviation growth story in the region.