Indore, Apr 7 (PTI) Passenger traffic at Indore’s Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport registered a healthy increase of 86 per cent to 16.63 lakh flyers in financial year 2021-22 on the back of drop in COVID-19 cases, relaxation in travel restrictions and launch of new services, an official said on Thursday.
In FY 2020-21, the year of coronavirus outbreak and strict lockdown, the number of passengers travelling from the international airport had nosedived to 8.96 lakh, the official said.
The fourth quarter (January-March 2022) of the last fiscal saw a smart pick up in passenger traffic as the third coronavirus wave ebbed and new services were launched from the city, the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh, he said.
However, official data indicate it will take sometime for the passenger traffic to reach pre-COVID-19 levels.
In fiscal 2019-20, a total of 29.06 lakh passengers had travelled from the Indore airport, while this figure was 31.36 lakh in 2018-19, the official said, citing official data.
Airport director Ramesh Kumar said at present 70 flights are operating daily from the city.
After a significant drop in coronavirus cases and easing of curbs, people are again getting attracted towards air travel and in the days to come new flights will be launched from Indore to cities like Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam, Kumar said.
The Indore airport is not just the busiest in Madhya Pradesh, but also the only international aerodrome in the state. PTI HWP MAS RSY RSY
