VISAKHAPATNAM: While most airports in the state saw passenger footfall dip below 50% in 2020 due to the pandemic, Rajahmundry airport managed to fare slightly better and recorded a 50% passenger footfall compared to 2019. The airport was the best-performing in terms of passenger footfall and flight movement among the four airports in Andhra Pradesh amid the pandemic.
Visakhapatnam International airport recorded a passenger footfall of only 42% in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20, while for Vijayawada airport this figure stood at 45% of the 2019-20 level and 42% for Tirupati airport.
The number of passengers travelling from Vizag was 11.13 lakh in 2020 compared to 26.81 lakh in 2019. From Rajahmundry, 2.04 lakh passengers travelled in 2020 compared to 4.09 lakh in the previous year while in Tirupati this number was much lower at 3.53 lakh passengers in 2020 compared to 8.34 lakh in 2019. Passengers from Vijayawada numbered at 5.07 lakh in 2020, far below 11.30 lakh in 2019.
In terms of aircraft movement, Rajahmundry recorded 59% of 2019 levels, significantly above 51% for Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada (49%) and Tirupati (48%). Aircraft movement from Rajahmundry numbered 5,682 in 2020 compared to 9,686 in 2019.
“There were 7,423 aircraft movements from Vijayawada in 2020 compared to 15,242 in 2019,” said president of AP Air Travellers Association Kumar Raja and vice-president O Naresh Kumar.
Visakhapatnam airport handled 3,778 tonnes of air cargo in 2020, including domestic and international, which was 68% of that handled in 2019. Vijayawada fared better with 93% of cargo movement compared 2019 levels.