Airport report: First half flyer count nearly matches 2019 high
Between Jan and June this year, the airport recorded a footfall of 1,10,27,180 passengers, just 8,647 shy of the 2019 figure of 1,10,35,827 during the same period. Buoyed by this performance, airport officials are confident that the total annual footfall will exceed the 2.3-crore mark recorded in 2019-20.
"Given the numbers so far and the upcoming festive travel between Oct and Dec, we are hopeful that Kolkata airport will comfortably surpass the pre-pandemic record," said airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria.
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The first six months of 2025 were, however, not without challenges. A combination of domestic and international disruptions dented what could have been an even stronger recovery. These included the terror attack in Pahalgam and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, which caused a dip in domestic travel during the peak summer holiday season. International passenger numbers were hit by the fatal Air India Ahmedabad-London crash, which claimed over 270 lives, followed by geopolitical unrest, including an aerial conflict in the Middle East and continuing rising tensions between Cambodia and Vietnam.
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"These incidents triggered a visible slowdown in travel confidence — both within the country and overseas. But even with these setbacks, we saw robust growth, especially in domestic traffic," Beuria added.
Indeed, Kolkata airport recorded a domestic footfall of 98,64,369 passengers between Jan and June this year, up from 95,54,297 in 2019. Except for June, 2025 surpassed 2019's monthly figures across the board.
In contrast, international passenger numbers fell short — 11,62,811 in 2025, down from 12,45,181 in 2024 and significantly below the 14,81,530 recorded in 2019 during the same half-year period, when there were far more operational international sectors from Kolkata.
That the international segment has been a sore point was pointed out by civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu during the airport's centenary celebrations last year, where he acknowledged the slow revival of international connectivity.
He, along with junior aviation minister Murlidhar Mohol and local MP Saugata Roy, called for more international services and urged global carriers to re-establish Kolkata's position as a key aviation hub in Asia.
Beuria attributed the lag in international traffic to the delay in the return of several major pre-Covid carriers, including Cathay Pacific, China Eastern Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, and IndiGo's services to destinations such as Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Kunming, and Colombo. "We, along with govt and industry partners, are engaging with these airlines and reaching out to European carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, and KLM, as well as Air India, to start direct flights from Kolkata to key European destinations," he said.
In 2024-25, the airport already hit 2.2 crore in total footfall, up from 2 crore in 2023-24 and 1.8 crore in 2022-23. Officials are optimistic that the current fiscal will cross 2.5 crore, a target set earlier this year.
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