E-Paper
Amritsar airport registers over 35% growth in international passengers traffic
As per data released by the Airport Authority of India, the total international passenger footfall in February reached 94,625, compared to 69,634 passengers in February 2023
Sri Guru Ram Das Jee (SGRDJ) International Airport in Amritsar in February 2024 saw a 35.9% increase in international passenger traffic as compared to the same month in February 2023.
As per the figures recently released by the Airport Authority of India, the total international passenger footfall in February reached 94,625, compared to 69,634 passengers in February 2023. This figure marks the highest ever for February and the third-highest in the airport’s history. The highest-ever international passenger footfall of 1,06,813 passengers was recorded in December 2023, with the second highest of 96,924 in January 2024.
Sameep Singh Gumtala, the FlyAmritsar initiative global convener and overseas secretary of the NGO Amritsar vikas manch, attributed the growth to the addition of new international flights from the airport after April 2023 which include Kuala Lumpur, Milan, Rome, London and Birmingham.
Due to this, the international aircraft movements increased to 474 from 402 in February 2023.
Gumtala said the domestic passenger footfall also rose by 13.6% to its third-highest total ever of 1,90,866, compared to 1,68,076 passengers in February 2023.
“February witnessed a significant rush with airfares skyrocketing on the Delhi-Amritsar route due to the start of farmer’s protest. The data reveals that although domestic aircraft movements increased only by 0.4% from 1,263 in February 2023 to 1,268 in February 2024, passenger traffic increased by almost 23,000 passengers,” said Kulwant Singh Ankhi, patron of Amritsar Vikas Manch.
The total passenger footfall of 2,85,491 in February 2024 is also the second-highest ever in the airport’s history, following a significant surge in footfall in December 2023 with 3,38,512 passengers.
The airport is currently connected with direct flights to nine international and 11 domestic destinations, including London, Birmingham, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Milan, Rome, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, Shimla, Kullu and Pune.
