Traffic at Ahmedabad airport soars free of recession after effects

The aviation sector in Gujarat is thriving. Last year, the steep hike in oil prices and the economic slump had hit the industry hard and passenger numbers at all airports of the country had fallen sharply. This year, however, the story is different. The volume of traffic at the city’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport has witnessed a sharp growth both in terms of number of passengers and aircraft movements.

From January 2009 to October 2009, the number of domestic passengers grew by almost 12.50% while, in the same period, domestic air traffic at the airport recorded a growth of 7.7%.

As far as international passengers and air traffic are concerned, the growth is 22.91% and 6.05%, respectively. What is more surprising is the fact that the growth at the city airport is higher than the national average.

It is worth mentioning that last year as many as 10 air-links were lost when some airlines discontinued their services. One of these was JetLite’s Ahmedabad-Jaipur flight. But today, the airport has flights connecting it to 11 cities in the country. On an average, the airport handles 50 flights daily. 

“The volume of air traffic, particularly of passengers coming from abroad, will increase further by the end of the year. In November and December, we receive the maximum number of international passengers,” said an Airport Authority of India (AAI) official at the city airport. In 2007, the airport had recorded a growth of 32.4% in aircraft movement and 20.8% in passenger traffic.

Till that year, the airport was connected to 17 domestic airports. However, with the advent of 2008, the growth in traffic volume was hampered because of the rise in prices of crude oil and the recession. Airlines feel that Ahmedabad has the potential of becoming one of busiest airports in the country.