SBSI Airport: April sees highest monthly footfall in 5 years
Mohali, May 17
With 3,35,427 passengers transiting the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International (SBSI) Airport this April, the airport has recorded the highest footfall in a month in the past five years.
Officials attributed the high footfall at the airport to better connectivity and increasing IT sector activity in the region. Due to relatively lower fare ahead of the vacations, families and senior citizens also prefer to reschedule their travel plans to March-April.
As many as 2,490 flights were operated from the airport here in April and 2,590 in March this year.
SBSI Airport CEO Rakesh Ranjan Sahay said, “The flow of passengers increases during this time of the year, probably that is why we are witnessing an increased footfall in April.”
In March, 3,33,985 passengers had visited the airport.
The SBSI Airport has seen the highest footfall after the Covid restrictions during 2022-2023 when 36,47,198 passengers transited through it. As many as 21,84,161 passengers visited the airport during 2021-2022.
Officials said the annual footfall had been on the rise for the past three years and the trend was likely to continue this year as well.
After GoFirst halted its nationwide operations from May 3, as many as 14 flights — to Ahmedabad, Leh, Srinagar, Mumbai (two flights) and Mopa Goa — were affected at the airport.
Sahay said, “The number of flights may have reduced here, but other airlines have introduced bigger aircraft to cater to the passenger demand. So the availability of seats has in fact increased after that.”
Officials reason
- Airport officials attributed the high footfall to better connectivity and increasing IT sector activity in the region
- Due to relatively lower fare ahead of vacations, families and senior citizens also prefer to schedule their travel plans to March-April
