Delhi handles highest air passengers in India

Delhi has replaced Mumbai as the airport handling the maximum number of air travellers. The latest data collated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) show that during January-March this year, Delhi handled 5.93 million passengers, while Mumbai handled 5.75 million passengers.The data show that Mumbai handled 102,498 fewer international passengers than the 2.06 million international passengers that Delhi handled during January-March. During the period, 3.86 million domestic passengers passed through Delhi while Mumbai handled almost 74,731 fewer passengers.

Industry analysts point out that one reason for Mumbai handling more aircraft despite passenger traffic declining could be because of the smaller variety of aircraft that are operated by several international airlines. “Several of the international airlines from the Gulf and South Asian region operate Code C type of aircraft like the Boeing 737 or Airbus A-320. On an average, these aircraft can carry a maximum of around 180 passengers.