Bengaluru's KIA surpasses Chennai and Kochi, becomes third busiest international airport in India: Report

The AAI data reportedly revealed that Bengaluru's KIA handled 4.8 lakh international passengers in October, surpassing Chennai and Kochi.

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has secured the position of India’s third-busiest airport for international passenger traffic, surpassing Chennai and Kochi in October 2024, said a report in Money Control.

Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru is third busiest airport in India for international traffic.

Here is the data

The Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) data reportedly revealed that KIA handled 4.8 lakh international passengers in October, overtaking Chennai (4.5 lakh) and Kochi (4.1 lakh). However, Delhi (17.5 lakh) and Mumbai (12.5 lakh) retained the top two spots.

According to the report, Bengaluru airport saw a massive growth of 24.3% in international passenger traffic compared to October 2023. Last year, in October, it handled only 3.9 lakh international passengers. In September 2024, Bengaluru ranked fifth, handling 4.39 lakh international passengers, trailing Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kochi, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru airport also stood at the third position in domestic traffic, following Delhi and Mumbai. During October 2024, Bengaluru recorded 30.8 lakh domestic passengers, behind Delhi (46.8 lakh) and Mumbai (31.6 lakh). Combined domestic and international traffic figures place KIA in third place overall, with 35.7 lakh passengers in October 2024, following Delhi (64.4 lakh) and Mumbai (44.2 lakh). Bengaluru Airport now connects to 29 international destinations through 34 airlines.

Recent additions include IndiGo’s direct flights to Mauritius and daily flights to Langkawi, Malaysia, starting December 16. Akasa Air is also set to begin direct flights from Bengaluru to Abu Dhabi soon.

The chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has reportedly approved a master plan to revamp Bengaluru’s HAL airport for civilian operations. The Karnataka government also plans to start a second airport in Bengaluru to handle the high footfalls in the coming future.

The newly approved plan will accommodate up to 40 lakh passengers annually by 2047 at HAL airport. During peak hours, the airport will be able to manage around 2,500 passengers.