Jet Airways' closure, Kannur airport dent Mangaluru air traffic

BENGALURU: Mangalore International Airport (MIA) is seeing a sharp drop in passenger traffic after the closure of Jet Airways and the launch of Kannur International Airport (KIA) in the neighbouring Kerala.

The table-top airport in coastal Karnataka has taken a hit both in terms of aircraft movement and passenger traffic, according to the latest figures from Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The two airports, on the Arabian coast, are about 175 km apart.

While it was expected that the Kannur airport would eat into the business of Mangaluru’s airport as the latter was also catering to Kannur and Kasargod districts in Kerala and Kodagu in Karnataka, few expected the drop to be so steep.

As a result of fewer airlines operating, airfares to and from Mangalore (Mangaluru) have gone through the roof.

In January, the Kerala government cut sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sold at Kannur airport to 1% for a 10-year period.

This made the greenfield airport attractive for airlines as ATF sold at Mangalore airport attracts a levy of 28%. “New airlines are not showing much enthusiasm to launch from Mangalore,” said an AAI official, unwilling to be identified.


“Earlier, the airport had about 70 aicraft movements a day. The same has now dropped to below 50,” the official added.

Kanara Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) president Isaac Vas urged the Karnataka government to cut sales tax on ATF in Mangaluru so that new airlines could find it attractive to start operations.

Senior officials, however, clarified that the state government had no such plans as of now.

There has been a 23% drop in passengers in April-November this year, AAI officials said. The passenger number dropped to 1.09 lakh in October this year compared to 1.27 lakh in the same month last year.

After Jet Airways shut operations in April, airfares have often skyrocketed, forcing passengers to look for cheaper options of transport. Jet used to operate 10 domestic and three international flights from Mangaluru, and those slots are still vacant.

With the number of flights dropping, airfares to Mumbai have often touched about ?18,000 and peaked to ?4,000 to Bengaluru.

According to Karnataka Bank CEO MS Mahabaleshwara, Mangaluru is a bustling city with an airport that is commercially viable.

The city requires more flights, he said, and urged the regulators to intervene whenever airfares tend to go up abnormally and put a cap. Vathika Pai, head of operations at Nirmala Travels, said passengers need more travel options and the city needs more domestic and international airlines to fill in the 13 vacant slots.

KCCI’s Vas added it was necessary to include Mangalore under the UDAN scheme, which, he said, was best suited for Mangalore airport for both domestic and international operations as large numbers of budget travelers use the airport.

Early this year, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state assembly that his government had reduced sales tax on ATF to 1% for a 10-year period as part of Kannur joining UDAN and also because it was a new airport.

By offering concessions, the state government had hoped to attract more airlines to the new aiport at Kannur, he said.