Airport woes: More flights, but fewer passengers

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">VADODARA: At a time when more people from Gujarat are taking to flying, the Vadodara airport is one of two airports in the state, which has recorded a dip in its passenger traffic. This despite the fact that a new private airline has recently started services from here and the hotel industry in the region is witnessing an increase in business travellers.Bhuj is the only other airport to register a dip. Ahmedabad and Rajkot airports, on the other hand, have seen a considerable increase in passenger traffic.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Ironically, from April 2003 till March 2004, the Vadodara airport has seen a dip of nearly 13.5 per cent and yet at the same time the number of flights scheduled from Vadodara has risen from six to eight.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">According to the figures available from the Airports Authority of India, passenger traffic from the Vadodara terminal had registered an increase by nearly 40.7 per cent between January 2002 to January 2003. Officials hold ''kamurta''-a period of 13 months, during which marriages are considered inauspicious and increased international flights from Ahmedabad airport responsible for the decrease.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Area marketing manager of Indian Airlines Suhas Jadhav says, "With more number of international flights being scheduled from Ahmedabad, the number of passengers boarding for Mumbai to catch flights to foreign destinations has decreased considerably from Vadodara." Jadhav is hoping to fight this drop with the launch of new corporate packages. As per a forecast made by the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, international passenger traffic is expected to increase by seven per cent by 2005-2006 while the domestic passenger traffic would register an increase by 5.5 per cent.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Interestingly, a private airlines official states that the passenger traffic for Mumbai has decreased considerably while that for Delhi has picked up. "The rates of Delhi have been designed in a highly competitive manner to match those of the railways.However, the railways still happens to be a much cheaper mode of transportation for a trip to Mumbai."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">The Vadodara Airports Authority of India director S Bajpai states that -kamurta - is the main reason for the decrease in passenger traffic. "A lot of people from the US and other foreign countries make trips to get their children married. However, in view of `kamurta'', many people postponed their plans of getting married. To add on, the launching of a new international flight from Ahmedabad has affected the passenger traffic from Vadodara to Mumbai".</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">"However, we expect the market to pick up in the coming months with Air Deccan offering their services from Vadodara", adds Bajpai.</span></div> </div>