Ranchi: As Chhath revellers from various parts of the country and abroad are returning home to celebrate the festival with their families, the city’s Birsa Munda airport has continued to witness a surge in passenger footfall since the beginning of Nov, with daily traffic crossing 7,500 on Nov 10 and 11.Between Nov 1 and 11, the airport handled 70,752 passengers, averaging around 6,432 passengers a day. The daily footfall stood at 7,547 on Nov 10, which comprised 3,912 passengers landing at the airport and 3,635 passengers taking off. Passenger footfall marginally increased to 7,555 on Nov 11, despite a steep rise in airfares ahead of the festival.On Thursday, one-way air tickets to Ranchi from Delhi ranged from Rs 9,000 to Rs 13,000. Similarly, Hyderabad to Ranchi air tickets were also priced at Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000.A passenger, Vikrant Kumar, at Ranchi airport, travelling from Delhi to Ranchi on Thursday, said, “I was trying to book train tickets for around one week but I could not get a confirmed ticket. In the end, I decided to book a flight ticket so that I can spend time with my family during the yearly festival. Spending Rs 9,000 on an air ticket for a student like me is not easy. However, I had no choice.”The increase in footfall comes after the airport recorded an average daily footfall of around 5,500 passengers in Sept and 5,900 in Aug. Passenger traffic also saw a significant rise in Oct, when the airport handled 2,12,490 passengers against 1,73,155 in Sept and 1,82,960 in Aug.Airport authorities attributed the increase to the festive season, particularly Chhath Puja, along with the onset of the winter tourism season.Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar told TOI that the upward trend in passenger traffic is expected to continue even after Chhath, as people are likely to travel to different destinations for tourism.“On normal days, the airport records an average footfall of around 5,500 passengers. However, the onset of winter, coupled with festivals in Oct and Nov, has boosted passenger traffic. A significant number of incoming passengers are visiting Jharkhand to celebrate the festivities with their families,” he said.Airport authorities expect the tourism season to sustain the momentum in passenger traffic in the coming weeks.
