Buoyed by the increasing passenger patronage for its services, the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has decided to spread its wings further by increasing the number of international services right from the beginning of 2024. The weekly air traffic movements (ATMs) will see a sharp jump in January and February, with three more new flights being introduced from the airport to various destinations.
Etihad Airlines has now started a daily service to Abu Dhabi from Thiruvananthapuram, while Oman-headquartered Salam Air will launch a new service to Muscat from January 3. Initially, the Muscat service will be on Wednesdays and Sundays. Oman Air is currently operating this route. Further, AirAsia will start service to Kuala Lumpur from February 21. The service is on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. This route is also served by Malaysia Airlines.
Record footfall
With the addition of three more flights in the international sector, the weekly ATMs will witness an increase from the current 1,100 to over 1,200 a week. The passenger traffic through the airport has also witnessed a record footfall of over 4 lakh passengers in December, the highest after the takeover of the airport by Adani Group, compared to 3.25 lakhs clocked in December 2022. The previous highest was 3.6 lakh passengers handled in November 2023.
The concessionaire of the airport has earned a total revenue of ₹350 crore from the Thiruvananthapuram airport since its takeover in October 2021.
