Kolkata: It was a festive homecoming on the eve of Kali Puja and Diwali, but barely four days later, the tide had turned at Kolkata airport. Thousands of Bengalis who had flown into the city to spend the festive break with their families began heading back to their workplaces and places of study outside the state after Bhaiphonta, triggering a sharp rise in departures on Wednesday.The airport’s passenger figures reflect this festive cycle of homecoming and return journeys. On Nov 7, the eve of the festivities, Kolkata recorded 32,048 arrivals — the highest among the five days — as people flew in from different parts of the country to celebrate with their families. Another 29,050 flyers arrived on Nov 8, taking the two-day inbound footfall to 61,098.But the rush was not confined to arrivals. The reversal became increasingly evident after the festivities, culminating on Wednesday, Nov 11, when departures climbed to 27,311, up from 16,797 on Nov 8 — a jump of nearly 63%. Arrivals, meanwhile, stood at 29,924 on Wednesday, suggesting that the airport was witnessing substantial movement in both directions even as the post-festival return rush gathered pace.The departure numbers had already begun climbing on Nov 9, when 20,977 passengers flew out, followed by 24,311 on Nov 10. Wednesday’s figure was a further 12.3% higher than Tuesday’s, underlining how the return rush intensified immediately after the festival break. In all, departures rose from 16,797 on Nov 8 to 27,311 on Nov 11.The overall passenger movement also gathered momentum towards the end of the period. The airport handled 57,235 flyers on Wednesday, the highest daily footfall across the five days, compared with 45,847 on Nov 8. While arrivals remained substantial, the rising departure count reflected the steady dispersal of people who had come home for the festivities.“Following the Durga Puja festivities, this has again been one of the busiest period the airport has gone through ever and the rush of inbound passengers increased over the weekend. We had to cancel leaves and deploy additional manpower at conveyor belts and trolley areas to ensure the flyers coming to the airport had a smooth transit,” said a senior official at Kolkata airport.Kolkata airport handled around 3.5 lakh passengers between Sasthi and Dashami this year.The rush for homecoming during the Kali Puja, Diwali and Bhaiphonta period had, in fact, come at a steep price. Airfares to Kolkata had nearly doubled ahead of the festivals, with one-way tickets from Delhi costing around Rs 13,700 on Nov 7, while fares from Bengaluru and Chennai hovered around Rs 13,500. Passengers flying in from Ahmedabad had to shell out around Rs 20,600, while those from Mumbai faced fares of nearly Rs 23,000. The contrast was striking: tickets for flights departing Kolkata on the same day were available for around Rs 7,000 to Rs 9,000.
