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Hyderabad International Airport recorded the highest passenger footfall of nearly 48,000 on October 9. These include both domestic and international passengers.

Before the Covid pandemic hit the operations in March last year, the airport was handling about 60,000 passengers daily.

The airport also recorded 350 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) which is 77 per cent of the pre-Covid numbers.

With the number of Covid cases is steadily coming down across India and the confidence in travel is gaining momentum, the average domestic passengers travelling from Hyderabad Airport per day rose to 31,137 in September as compared to 22,500 per day in July.

According to operator, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), the airport saw an increase in the number of flights across domestic sectors. The airport recorded a substantial rise in ATMs in September which was close to 9,000.

The passenger traffic surged in September with the airport witnessing traffic of 9.35 lakh domestic passengers as compared to 6.8 lakh domestic passengers in July. This is 62 per cent of the pre-Covid levels.

The domestic passenger recovery at Hyderabad Airport was the highest amongst all metro airports during July and August.

The airport also saw a gradual increase in international travelers which was 1.2 lakh which is 41 per cent of the pre- Covid level.

"Overall, the total passenger traffic footfall (domestic & international) reached 59 per cent of the pre-Covid levels in the month of September'21," GHIAL said on Monday.

As the passenger expectations around air travel are changing, visits to family and friends, leisure travel, business travels and students travelling to join international universities are on the rise. Fliers' demand for domestic destinations is on the rise.

Hyderabad International Airport now connects to 65 domestic destinations as compared to 55 destinations in the pre-Covid period. In the last quarter, new domestic sectors like Rajkot, Srinagar, and Jamnagar were added.

The airport recently launched Air India's maiden direct flight from Hyderabad to London. The Air India non-stop flights operate between Hyderabad International Airport and Heathrow Airport twice a week - Monday and Friday. Also, under the UDAN initiative to bolster regional connectivity, it launched Star Air's maiden flight from Hyderabad to Jamnagar.

Domestic destinations like Jamnagar, Jammu, and Chandigarh recorded huge growth in passenger volume flying out from Hyderabad. Jamnagar recorded passenger growth rate of 346 per cent in September as compared to August while Jammu recorded 286 per cent and Chandigarh close to 244 per cent.

The most popular domestic destination in terms of passenger volume were Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Dubai, Doha and Sharjah were the hottest destinations among the international travellers.

Along with leisure/vacation travel, SME business travel and visiting Friends & Relatives (VFR), students have largely contributed to the increase in passenger numbers, a GHIAL official said.