Bengaluru: Mangalore International Airport (MIA) is seeing a sharp drop in passenger
traffic after the closure of Jet Airways and the launch of Kannur International Airport (KIA)
in the neighbouring Kerala.
The table-top airport in coastal Karnataka has taken a hit both in terms of aircraft movement and passenger traffic, according to the latest figures from Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The two airports, on the Arabian coast, are about 175 km apart. While it was expected that the Kannur airport would eat into the business of Mangaluru’s airport as the latter was also catering to Kannur and Kasargod districts in Kerala and Kodagu in Karnataka, few expected the drop to be so steep. As a result of fewer airlines operating, airfares to and from Mangalore (Mangaluru) have gone through the roof. In January, the Kerala government cut sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sold at Kannur airport to 1% for a 10-year period.
This made the greenfield airport attractive for airlines as ATF sold at Mangalore airport attracts a levy of 28%. “New airlines are not showing much enthusiasm to launch from Mangalore,” said an AAI official, unwilling to be identified.
25/12/19 KR Balasubramanyam/Economic Times
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The table-top airport in coastal Karnataka has taken a hit both in terms of aircraft movement and passenger traffic, according to the latest figures from Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The two airports, on the Arabian coast, are about 175 km apart. While it was expected that the Kannur airport would eat into the business of Mangaluru’s airport as the latter was also catering to Kannur and Kasargod districts in Kerala and Kodagu in Karnataka, few expected the drop to be so steep. As a result of fewer airlines operating, airfares to and from Mangalore (Mangaluru) have gone through the roof. In January, the Kerala government cut sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sold at Kannur airport to 1% for a 10-year period.
This made the greenfield airport attractive for airlines as ATF sold at Mangalore airport attracts a levy of 28%. “New airlines are not showing much enthusiasm to launch from Mangalore,” said an AAI official, unwilling to be identified.
25/12/19 KR Balasubramanyam/Economic Times
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