Passenger footfall: Chandigarh International Airport regains 71 per cent ground

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 29

The Chandigarh international airport regained the passenger footfall by over 71 per cent since the second wave of the Covid struck in March this year.

According to information, before lockdown was imposed in March this year to contain the pandemic spread, the airport saw a daily footfall of at least 7,000 passengers, both at arrivals and departures. The number later went down to zero as no domestic flight operated form the local airport. After cases started declining, domestic flights were resumed and the number of passengers has now risen to nearly 5,000, registering a regain of about 71 per cent.

At present, 33 flights are being operated at the airport.

On May 3, the Mohali administration had allowed people to travel by air either by producing a Covid negative report not older than 72 hours before boarding the flight or producing a vaccination certificate (at least one dose) over two weeks old.

It is pertinent to mention here that before the lockdown was imposed in March last year to control the spread of Covid-19, the airport saw at least 12,000 passengers, both at arrivals and departures, daily. The number had come down by about 85 to 95 per cent when the domestic flights resumed operations in May last year.

The airport was generating a total revenue of around Rs30 lakh daily, with the main source being the aeronautical category. The other sources of revenue are retail shops, office spaces, vehicle parking and advertisements.

Ajay Bhardwaj, Chief Executive Officer of the airport, said after the easing of restrictions, the airport had witnessed a steady increase in passengers. He said barring a few, all outlets, including those of high-end brands, were operating at the airport.