- SUMMARY
- Bengaluru Airport since last year was led by Emirates in the international market.
- Now, Indian airlines specially IndiGo has taken the lead.
- IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa Air will jointly expand international operations from the airport.
Indian air carriers are currently considering three Indian airports in the country for expanding their international outreach. We all are aware of the capabilities of Delhi and Mumbai Airport. The third one is Bengaluru Airport, which has seen a tremendous rise in the past few years, specifically since the inauguration of the new Terminal 2. The international network from Bengaluru Airport is slowly growing and the growth is anticipated to continue in coming years.
IndiGo is Leading From Bengaluru
From Delhi, Air India offers the highest number of seats for international operations. From Mumbai, it is IndiGo, which leads in overseas numbers. But when it comes to Bengaluru, the case was different a year ago. The largest airline in terms of international seat deployment from Bengaluru was Emirates. Yes, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates used to lead from a potential hub airport in India. No doubt, it is sarcastically called the ‘Unofficial Flag Carrier of India’.
But when we look at the comparison between 2023 and 2024, we will see that this trend has changed. IndiGo, which has the largest domestic presence from Bengaluru Airport has deployed 57 percent more seats internationally from Bengaluru, when compared to last year. With this, IndiGo has taken the number 1 spot in terms of international seat deployment from Bengaluru Airport.
In the overseas market, IndiGo connects Bengaluru to 8 international cities: Bali, Male, Doha, Singapore, Colombo, Bangkok, Phuket, and Dubai. Daily flights to Bali were launched in this Winter schedule.
What About Other Airlines?
Not just IndiGo, but other Indian airlines are also taking part in expanding international operations from Bengaluru Airport. Air India has announced Bengaluru Airport as its hub for South India. The airline has cleared its intention to launch a bunch of long-haul flights from Bengaluru Airport. It is anticipated to launch non-stop flights to London Gatwick by the end of this year.
Akasa Air, the youngest major airline in India is also in talks with the airport operator for launching foreign flights from the airport. The airline recently announced flights to its second international destination: Jeddah, connecting the Saudia city to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Other than Indian carriers, global airlines for a long time have exploited the foreign traffic from Bengaluru Airport. In the report released by Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the international passenger numbers from the airport increased to 4.67 million in FY24. This means a yearly growth registration of 23.5 percent. Passengers majorly prefer flying to short to medium-haul international destinations like Dubai, Singapore, Doha, Bangkok, and Abu Dhabi.
This does not mean that there is no demand for long-haul routes. In April, Virgin Atlantic launched non-stop services between Bengaluru and London Heathrow. If there was no pandemic, the airport would have received ultra-long haul connections to Seattle and San Francisco, by American carriers. Not my words, but the Bengaluru Airport COO said this in a LinkedIn interaction.
Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia has announced increasing the frequency on Sydney to Bengaluru route w.e.f 12 December, 2024. With this, the Aussie airline will be offering an additional 12,000 seats for a 4-month duration.
Indian Carriers Will Continue to Grow
If you look at the international expansion of IndiGo in the current stage and compare it to 2018-19, you will see that the airline is expanding slowly. There is a well-established reason behind it. More than 70 aircraft of IndiGo are grounded because of the PW1100 series engine issue.
As a result, the airline is not able to expand internationally. Executives at Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) believe that once these issues relax, IndiGo will further increase its network from the airport. In the next 12-18 months, the airline will increase its network from the airport.
Conclusion: IndiGo Huge Growth at Bengaluru
One more airport has joined the list of Indian airports to be designated as a hub. The name is Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport. Once, Emirates used to lead from this airport internationally. But within a year, IndiGo did a magic and retained the number 1 position. Now, other airlines like Air India and Akasa, including IndiGo itself are looking to increase their international presence from the airport.
What do you think about this expansion from Bengaluru Airport? Discuss in the comment section.
With Inputs From The Hindu Business Line
Featured Image Credits: Bengaluru Airport via Social Media
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