From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Nov 9: With an aim to transform itself as the gateway to India, the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru - operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) - continues to offer exciting travel options to its passengers by introducing seven new destinations and two new international airlines for the Winter Schedule.
The winter schedule that has already commenced from October 26 will be in force until March 28, 2020.
The two new airlines will be commencing operations from Kempegowda International Airport. They are Ethiopian Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch, which connect Bengaluru to two new cities.
Ethiopian Airlines will offer four weekly non-stop flights to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, considered to be the gateway to Africa, while KLM Royal Dutch will operate three weekly flights to Amsterdam.
The five new domestic destinations include Golden City Jaisalmer (Spice Jet, six weekly flights from November 16), Jodhpur (Indigo, daily from October 27), Jharsuguda (Spice Jet, daily from November 16), Bidar, a northern district of Karnataka (True Jet, daily from December 1) and Tuticorin (Indigo, daily from October 27).
With this, Bengaluru will now connect 82 destinations, including 25 international cities.
“Introducing newer routes and new airlines will significantly transform BLR Airport as the Gateway to a New India. We will continue to explore attractive routes that connect Bengaluru to some of the most exotic destinations in India and abroad,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, BIAL.
At the start of winter 2019, the Kempegowda Airport is expected to achieve Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) of about 700 per day (611 domestic and 89 international).
As the season progresses, the daily ATMs are expected to reach 727 (635 Domestic and 92 International).
The hourly runway capacity will continue to be 40 movements per hour.
The average international ATMs for winter 2019-20 is expected to grow at 12% over Summer 2019 while domestic movements are expected to achieve a growth of 16%.
The overall growth forecast for the forthcoming schedule is pegged at 16%.
The top international airline during this schedule by ATMs will be Indigo with 17.9% market share of overseas operations, while Air India is second with 9.7%.
On the domestic front, Indigo continues to lead with 51.2% market share, while Spice Jet is at second with 15.7%.