MUMBAI: Rajkot is air-linked with Mumbai by an hourlong flight that has nothing in particular to make it stand out, except when Covid-19 is factored in. When all domestic flights that operate out of Mumbai are considered, it is this city in Saurashtra in Gujarat, along with a handful of others, that have not only recovered from the pandemic, but have far surpassed their pre-Covid passenger traffic numbers.
Rajkot has clocked the highest growth in passenger traffic—107%, that is—when pre-Covid January 2020 numbers are compared with the current traffic.
“With the ease in travel restrictions across India and more and more travellers being double vaccinated, Mumbai airport has witnessed over nine domestic destinations surpassing pre-Covid levels,” said Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).
In the first 15 days of December, about 16,000 passengers flew between Mumbai and Rajkot, which was a 107% growth as compared to the pre-Covid period—the first 15 day of January 2020.
Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh comes in second with a 73% growth as compared to pre-Covid times, according to MIALdata. But when the December data is compared to January 2019 data, Jabalpur’s passenger traffic growth stands at 98%, the highest among this lot. Then there is Vishakhapatnam with a 68% growth (January 2020 vs December) and the rest are Aurangabad, Chandigarh, Gorakhpur, Kandla, Madurai and Srinagar.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/9-mumbai-air-routes-see-traffic-higher-than-pre-covid-levels/articleshow/88514002.cms
