Gulf conflict hits high-flying Kochi airport’s revenue

Kochi: The ongoing conflict in West Asia is taking a toll on Kochi airport, with the facility incurring a revenue loss of Rs 2 crore per day following the cancellation of several international services. The international operations of Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial) decreased by 50% from last month as a fallout of the war.The share of international services constitutes around 70% of Cial's aero-service revenue. Cial officials said its non-aero revenue also slumped following a significant decrease in passenger turnout due to the war between Iran and US-Israel."The number of services has come down by around half and the revenue by around 60%. The revenue from non-aero services, including commercial activities, has also decreased," a Cial official said.The reduction in the parking and landing fee (to be paid by airline operators to airports) of domestic services has also been a reason."The airline operators are facing a decrease in revenue and the Union govt asked the airport authorities to cut down the parking and landing fee of domestic flights by 25%. This also has affected our revenue," a Cial source said.At the same time, the decline in revenue will not impact Cial much unless the crisis prolongs. As per the data released by Cial last year, the airport registered an all-time high profit of Rs 489 crore during the 2024-25 fiscal and the highest-ever revenue of Rs 1,142 crore. The sound financial position is helping Cial tide over the present crisis. Travel and tour operations in Kerala, especially in Kochi, are also facing difficulties. "We started facing the issue in March itself. But we could survive the last fiscal. It is during March, April and May that outflow of tourists from Kerala to other countries happens. Now, around 90% of tickets booked for foreign tours have been cancelled. Holy Land pilgrimage to countries like Israel, Palestine and Jordan is being held in March. More than 200 groups which booked tickets for the pilgrimage cancelled their bookings. This has created a huge crisis for the travel and tour operators in Kerala, Kochi in particular," said Travel Agents Federation of India managing committee member Paulose Mathew.The summer vacation in the Gulf region falls in July-Sept period when thousands of expatriate Keralites visit their home state. "Hundreds of agencies in Gulf countries had booked tickets to meet the demand. Now, most airline operators have cancelled them. This has affected not only the airports but allied businesses and services like travel and tour operators. We are facing a crisis similar to the one during the Covid period," Mathew added.