Breaking its own single-day record, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), one of the world's busiest single runway airports, handled the movement of 1,30,374 passengers on September 17, the highest since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The growth is a result of newer destinations, rising flight movements and an increase in airline capacity at the airport.
On September 17, close to 95,080 passengers travelled through Terminal 2 (T2) and 35,294 were witnessed travelling through Terminal 1 (T1) with 839 total flight movements on this day.
On domestic routes, IndiGo, Vistara, and Go First catered to the highest passenger traffic.
As for international, IndiGo, Air India, and Emirates stood among the top three airlines.
Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai were the top three domestic destinations, while Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore remained the top three international routes with maximum air traffic.
Adding to the weekend rush on September 18, the Mumbai airport again witnessed over 1.3 lakh passengers of which approximately 98,000 passengers travelled domestically while around 32,000 others were seen travelling on international routes.
According to rating agency Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited (ICRA), domestic traffic rose to 5 per cent to 1.02 crore in August 2022, indicating that the aviation industry is set on the road to recovery with normalcy in flight operations.
"With passenger-centric facilities, diligent staff, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and introduction of the latest technologies and services, CSMIA offer passengers a convenient and hassle-free experience. With travel ramping up and more passengers expected to fly, CSMIA endeavors to provide a smooth transit experience for all its passengers through its 'Gateway to Goodness'," said an airport spokesperson.