After finding its name among the top 20 airports in the country earlier in January this year, the Visakhapatnam Airport slipped positions due to low air traffic attributed to the cancellation of services by various airlines. According to a report, the month of June witnessed a sharp decline in the average number of daily flights flying out of the city.
Averaging over 30 flights per day, the Visakhapatnam Airport amassed 2,40,518 passenger traffic during January. Similarly, May recorded the lowest average daily flights at 27 while the highest average number of flights per day was 34. But things took a roundabout when Go Air and Akasa Air, the newest name in the circuit, terminated their operations from Vizag, resulting in a fall in the numbers.
Go Air pulled out, terminating the three flight services as it temporarily halted its operations in May across the country due to bankruptcy. Additionally, Akasa Air, which recently introduced flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai about six months ago, has made the shocking decision to withdraw its services from Vizag. BJP Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao revealed the airline’s CEO explained the withdrawal was driven by profitability concerns and limitations of the aircraft. However, he added that the CEO assured him of resuming operations in Vizag within a year.
As a result of the above turn of events, the air traffic at Visakhapatnam Airport declined significantly, averaging only 23-28 flights per day in June. 21 June 2023 recorded the lowest daily flights at a meagre 23. As per an estimate, the passenger traffic fell by 25%. The monthly passenger traffic for June was only 2.1 lakh, which is a concern compared to January.
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