55% decline in int’l passengers at CSMIA due to travel restrictions

Weeks after air travel restrictions were imposed due to Covid-19, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has reported a 55% decline in

Weeks after air travel restrictions were imposed due to Covid-19, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has reported a 55% decline in the number of international passengers this month.

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CSMIA gets an average of 42,000 international passengers per day. However, now the number has reduced to 18,000. Domestic traffic too has dropped by 15-20%. An airport official said, “The situation was far better in February, as the effect of Covid-19 was not seen. However, the situation has deteriorated in the current month and there has been a drastic dip in the daily footfall.”

While screening of passengers following the outbreak of novel coronavirus started at the Mumbai airport two months ago on January 18, nearly 74% of the total 2.52 lakh screenings were carried out in the last two weeks, reveals data by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s health department.

It was only after March 4 that the scope of screenings widened to all passengers. Since January 18, officials from CSMIA, Central health department, and state health department have been involved in the screening process. BMC officials joined in by initially deploying a team of over 40 doctors at the airport.

Looking at the current situation, aviation think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), which released a report on Monday, said that with new advisories and restrictions being announced every day, and with the Indian government urging people to avoid all non-essential travel, overall air travel demand is expected to further weaken substantially, with a drop of 40-50% or quite possibly even higher being possible.

Meanwhile, a Vistara airline spokesperson confirmed temporarily suspending its international operations from 20 March 2020 to 31 March 2020.