Blitz Bureau
Chennai, April 2: In anticipation of the summer vacation rush, Chennai Airport has announced the launch of 206 special flights under its “Summer Special” initiative.
These include 42 international and 164 domestic services, aimed at accommodating the significant rise in passenger traffic during the upcoming summer holiday season.
With schools and colleges closing for summer and temperatures soaring across the country, the number of travellers has increased dramatically, especially those flying for leisure or to visit their hometowns.
While the airport usually sees around 50,000 passengers a day, that figure is now expected to exceed 55,000, possibly approaching 60,000 in the coming weeks.
To manage the spike in demand, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has introduced additional domestic and international flights from Chennai for the summer.
Air India has ramped up its services to Sri Lanka, increasing weekly flights from 7 to 10.
SpiceJet has also stepped in with 7 new weekly flights on the same route.
Alliance Airlines is resuming its Chennai–Jaffna operations, which were earlier suspended due to adverse weather, with 7 weekly services.
Air India Express has increased weekly flights to Kuwait from 5 to 7, Muscat from 1 to 2, and Dammam from 2 to 3.
IndiGo will now operate 7 weekly flights to Kuwait.
Oman Air has expanded its services to Muscat, increasing from 11 to 14 flights per week while Gulf Airways is enhancing its Chennai–Bahrain frequency from 7 to 10 weekly flights.
Meanwhile Bangla Airlines is significantly increasing its flights to Dhaka, jumping from 3 to 11 weekly services.
On the domestic front, Air India is strengthening its network. The number of Chennai–Bengaluru weekly flights has been increased from 12 to 23 while the Chennai–Delhi route has seen an increase of weekly flights from 70 to 77.
The weekly frequency of flights from Chennai–Madurai will be increased from 7 to 14 while the number of Chennai–Mumbai flights will be ramped up from 42 to 49.
Air India Express is also scaling up its domestic operations with additional flights to Kochi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, and with the introduction of new routes to Varanasi and Noida.
IndiGo will enhance services to Thoothukudi, Tiruchy, Kochi, and Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, SpiceJet is adding more flights to Ayodhya, Kochi, Hyderabad, Madurai, and several other destinations.
A total of 164 special domestic flights are being rolled out from Chennai Airport as part of the initiative.
Many of these flights are already operational, while others will be introduced in phases, based on passenger demand.
With these enhancements, Chennai Airport is well-prepared to handle the peak summer traffic.
The addition of 206 special flights is expected to provide passengers with a smoother, more convenient travel experience throughout the vacation season.(IANS)