Hyderabad: The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad appears to be epitomizing the State’s gradual journey to a new normal, with domestic operations that resumed in a calibrated mode from May 25 increasing at a faster pace than other airports in the country. According to RGIA officials, from about 3,000 domestic passengers daily in the first few weeks after May 25, the passenger footfall increased to over 20,000 daily in September, a growth of over six times. The airport has handled over 1.2 million domestic passengers from the day of recommencement till September 30, they said.
Hyderabad has also seen an uptick in air traffic movement (ATM) from about 40 daily ATMs in the first few weeks of the restart to over 230 domestic flights daily in September. Over 13,500 domestic flights were handled from May 25 to September 30.
Another major step forward was that RGIA had regained 52 destinations out of pre-Covid 55 destinations, restoring almost 95 percent domestic connectivity till August. With a new domestic destination, Jagdalpur in Chhatisgarh from September 21, RGIA is now connected with 53 destinations in the domestic sector. Nagpur, Mangalore, Kozhikode/Calicut, and Jabalpur are the latest destinations which were regained in the last four weeks. The top five destinations in the post-Covid period remain Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
“Initially, the airport observed unidirectional traffic due to pent-up demand, however, now the demand is gradually back to both ways,” an official said, adding that the top three airlines serving domestic traffic from RGIA were IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India. As for international flights permitted under Vande Bharat Mission and Air Transport Bubble agreements initiated among various countries, RGIA is now connected with the UK, UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah), Qatar, and Bahrain.
Apart from these, many charters from various countries are also operating on a regular basis. The airport on average has witnessed over 11 international ATMs daily in September. The international numbers are expected to increase further, once the Air Transport Bubble agreement gets further enhanced covering more countries, officials said, adding that since the lockdown in March, RGIA has handled about 1.1 lakh international passengers with over 800 flights.
High flow
• Handles 1.2 million domestic passengers from May 25 to September 30
• Daily Air Traffic Movement up from 40 to 230 domestic flights
• 13,500 domestic flights operated from May 25 to September 30
• regains 52 out of pre-Covid 55 destinations
Improves safety measures using technology
Hyderabad: Apart from e-boarding for both domestic and international passengers, RGIA has overhauled the hygiene and sanitation system. Touchless terminal entry at departure gates, self-baggage drops, contact-less information desk, contact-less water fountain, contact-less elevators were some of the innovations developed and implemented in the airport. Every portion of the airport is deep-cleaned and fumigated frequently while installing disinfection tunnels for trolleys.
The Automatic Tray Retrieval System at security frisking zones is integrated with UV tunnels to sanitize trays to keep hand luggage before proceeding for a security check. Baggage belts too go through disinfection.
Cab sanitization at the car park ensures that passengers board only sanitized cabs. All-cash transaction points including at retail outlets are made ready for digital cashless transactions. Food& beverages outlets encourage passengers to choose from a wide array of digital options for payment.
The airport also has the HOI app, apart from QR codes placed across the terminal, which can be used to pre-order food through mobile phones. All retail outlets at the Security Hold Area inside the airport have a UV box to sanitize products.
