Mangaluru: Afraid of Omicron Variant SARS-COV-2 Virus forced air travelers to cancel their plans, which have resulted in a 60% decline in domestic passenger movements at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), in January.
The domestic passenger footsteps in December 2021 were 1,08,880, which fell to 63,648 in January 2022.According to them in the aviation business, a sharp decline in domestic passenger movements was caused by several factors, related to the third wave of covid- 19 pandemic.
International passenger movements have also seen negative growth, with a drop of 2915 passengers, such as 31,279 international passengers in December last year.
“The movement of domestic air passengers, which was hit by the second wave of Covid-19, began to see recovery from August, with 53,261 footsteps, which doubled in December, 2021.
However, the decline began from the last week of December, and the number again moved back to five months low, “said a senior executive from the airline.
“The main reason for negative growth in the number of domestic passengers is Omicron variant, which results in hours of night and travel prohibitions.
Many tourists avoided flying, because they were told that this variant was more contagious than the previous one.
However, the numbers began to pick up after the end of January.
“Domestic air traffic has been reduced.
In December, 953 domestic flights were reported, which was reduced to 712 flights in January.airlines expecting positive growth from February.
“The burden of domestic passengers on flights increased from day-by-day, and all flights that run at almost full capacity.
We expect normal to return in the summer, “said an executive of a low-cost airline.
Meanwhile, additional domestic flights have been introduced for existing purposes.
Indigo will fly twice a day between Mangaluru and Hyderabad, starting from March 1 will also continue the fourth flight to Bengaluru, starting from February 16.
New MIA machines have introduced a seller of two vending machines in the Security Area to continue domestic and international (SHA) from the airport.
Contactless machines, and provide guests with food and drinks.
Passengers have the option of taking food or drink selection of their choices, by making payments through cash or cashless payment methods of digital wallets, and credit or debit cards.