Cochin airport registers impressive growth in flights

Flight movement through the Cochin airport (Cochin International Airport Ltd.) registered a substantial growth during the 2005-06 financial year with most international and domestic airlines increasing the services. The total aircraft movement during the period was 20,975 as against 18,611 in the preceding fiscal, thus registering a growth rate of 12.70 per cent. International sector services recorded a growth rate of 10.85 per cent for the period with the airport handling a total of 11,444 services, compared to 10,323 services in the previous fiscal. During the period the airport handled around 300 international services a week. Non-scheduled flights, however, witnessed a marginal decline, as the number dropped from 37 to 21. The growth in the domestic sector services was 15 per cent. A total of 9,531 services operated through the airport during the period as against 8,288 services in the previous fiscal. Non-scheduled flights in the domestic sector also dropped from 605 to 427.

Air-India along with its no-frills subsidiary Air-India Express topped the chart in the international sector. Though the number of Air-India services registered a drop from 3,273 to 2,176, the airline more than made up for that drop through its subsidiary, which operated 1,322 services during the period. Another public carrier Indian was next in the line with 3,257 services as against 2,718 services in the preceding fiscal. SriLankan Airline almost doubled the number of its services through the airport during the 2005-06 fiscal by operating 1,052 services as against 593 services in the previous fiscal. Oman Air came third by increasing the number of services from 604 to 710. Emirates Airlines came next though the airline had cut down the number of services from 650 to 588 during the period. Silk Air, the only airline to operate in the Kochi-Singapore sector, increased the number of services from 432 to 548. Gulf Air with 540 services ranked sixth, though it had reduced the number of services from 606 in the previous fiscal. Qatar Airways made a substantial reduction in the number of services from 784 to 500, and stood at the seventh position.

In the eighth position was Saudi Arabia with 314 services, exactly the same number of services as in the previous fiscal. The Tehran-based Mahan Air, which launched operations in the Kochi sector on December 2005, operated 102 services in the remaining fourth month-period of the 2005-06 fiscal. In the domestic sector Jet Airways led the pack with 4,386 services as against 4,319 services in the 2004-05 fiscal. Indian followed with 2,108 services, though the airline had cut down the number of services from 2,636 services. Two airlines which started operations from here in late 2005, Air Deccan, the country's first domestic budget carrier, and the UB Group-promoted Kingfisher Airlines, occupied the next two positions with 844 services and 738 services respectively. Air Sahara, which maintained the exact number of services, 728, as in the 2004-05 fiscal, was next in the ranking. Paramount Airways, promoted by a Madurai-based industrial house, and the Wadia Group-promoted Go Air were next in the line with 228 and 72 services respectively.

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