Bangalore: Higher airfares, reduction in airline seat capacity, a grounded Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), and low economic sentiments have caused a sharp decline in air passenger traffic in Bangalore.
Data from Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) for the period April-October shows that passenger traffic declined by 7% at 68.6 lakh compared to 73.9 lakh in the same period last year. Domestic passenger traffic at BIA declined by 10% in the period, while international traffic grew by 6%.
An airport spokesperson attributed the drop primarily to the reduction and eventual stoppage of KFA's operations.
Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, CAPA, an aviation consultancy and advisory company, said that KFA's suspen sion coupled with domestic capacity contraction by airlines across India had created a serious gap in BIA's domestic network.
02/12/12 Anshul Dhamija/Times of India
