Rs 45 cr revenue loss in 15 days; 75,000 fliers grounded

Pune: Fifteen days. 75,000 passengers grounded. Loss of business put around Rs 45 crore. That is the direct damage that the shutdown of the Pune International Airport for a fortnight starting February 12 will cause. There is more to this issue than the inconvenience to the passengers, which by itself is significant. The Indian Express is putting the spotlight on the fall-out of the airport closure in the form of a series of stories, starting today.
Try this for size — almost 1,000 Puneites who would have usually flown to Dubai directly from Pune during this time—especially with the Dubai International Shopping Festival on from January 24 to February 24—having to re-route their travel plans via Mumbai during the February12-26 period.
“If we calculate revenue generated by the flights which take off from Pune, it is approximately Rs.1.5 crore a day,” said Suresh Shetty of Tradewings, a city-based travel agency. His associate, Sunil Londhe, argues that once the flights coming into Pune are also taken into consideration, the daily business generated by way flights in Pune is Rs 3 crore a day.
While seven carriers (six domestic and one international) operating flights out of Pune, the airport is also a base for private jets of several companies based in the city.
When contacted, Airport Director Deepak Shastri refused to comment on the revenue losses.
14/01/08 Expressindia.com

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Categories: Airports Jan 2008