NEW DELHI: Air passenger traffic in the country continues its growth trajectory month-on-month, with a 3 per cent increase in overall passengers in May 2025 compared to May 2024.Data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) reveals a higher demand for international travel, with a 5% increase recorded during the same period.The Air Traffic Report for May, made public by AAI, reveals that 6.76 million passengers flew abroad compared to 6.44 million last year. They form part of the 35.38 million who travelled in May 2025, compared to 34.34 million in May 2024.Air Traffic Movements (flight arrivals and departures) recorded a 5.9 per cent increase, with 2.78 crore movements in May this year compared to 2.63 crore in May last year.A total of 67,62,343 people opted to fly abroad in May 2025, versus 64,41,392 during the same month last year. Relatively smaller airports, compared to the top five, are showing a significant surge in demand for international travel.Goa recorded a nearly 300 per cent surge in international flyers, with 26,211 passengers in May 2025 compared to May 2024.In terms of percentage, Pune followed with a high growth of 85 per cent (34,388 flyers) during the same period. Coimbatore Airport, with 28,809 flyers, registered a 48.4 per cent increase in patronage over the previous year. Mangaluru and Surat saw a 35.1 per cent increase, with 62,159 and 18,790 flyers respectively in May this year. Similarly, Kannur Airport, with 1,00,993 international flyers, and Nagpur, with 10,471 flyers, each recorded a 20.7 per cent increase over their previous figures.The boom in international travel from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) continued, with 6,05,742 flyers in May this year, up by a significant 25 per cent over the same month last year. In comparison, other major airports like Mumbai (13,42,584 flyers) and Delhi (17,04,549 flyers) recorded single-digit growths of 2.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively, over their May 2024 figures. Hyderabad recorded a healthy 11.2 per cent increase with 4,52,243 flyers.Domestic front dataOn the domestic front as well, relatively smaller airports showed strong growth in May 2025 over May 2024.Jharsuguda recorded 40,808 flyers (a 92.2% increase), Jabalpur 46,924 flyers (90.3%), Gorakhpur 1,00,404 flyers (87.5%), Shivamogga 14,104 flyers (80.6%), Agra 22,521 flyers (77.2%), Kanpur 35,720 flyers (58%), Tirupati 1,06,200 flyers (a 53.7% increase), Rajahmundry 54,963 flyers (50.5%), Tiruchirappalli 74,343 flyers (46.5%), Kannur 46,923 flyers (49.6%), Patna 4,07,993 flyers (34.6%), and Bhuj 18,861 flyers (30.8%).
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