The Delhi airport was world’s second busiest airport in March in terms of domestic and international flights handled, said Official Airline Guide (OAG), a global travel data provider, in its recent report.
“Whilst Atlanta retains its position as largest, Dubai is knocked out of second place this month (March) by Delhi which moves up from third ace last month (February),” the OAG’s report mentioned.
After remaining affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic for about two years, the travel and aviation sectors have slowly started to show signs of recovery in the year 2022.
According to the list released early this month, Delhi Airport (3,611,181 seats), which is India’s busiest airport, has knocked out Dubai International Airport (3,554,527 seats) to grab the second position. In the previous month’s list, Dubai International Airport ranked second. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) has retained its top position (with 4,422,436 seats).
In the last ranking issued in March for February 2022, Delhi Airport had ranked third after Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Dubai International Airport.
Delhi airport had surpassed China’s Guangzhou airport, which was the fourth busiest airport across the globe.
Delhi Airport has also made a quantum leap when compared with its position in April 2019. Before the pandemic, the airport ranked 23rd among the busiest airports in the world.
The rankings are based on scheduled capacity in the current month and compared to the equivalent month in 2019, pre-pandemic. The top 10 busiest airports in the world have been calculated using total domestic and international seat capacity and frequency of flights from a particular airport.
“COVID pandemic had hit the world hard. Travel restrictions had badly affected the travel and tourism sectors for two consecutive years. But now, with the rise in the number of vaccinated people across the world, governments are easing travel restrictions and slowly opening up their borders. India has last month opened its borders and allowed the entry of fully vaccinated international travelers into the country. These steps have largely helped the travel and tourism industry and given a much-needed boost to air travel,” said CEO- DIAL, Mr. Videh Kumar Jaipuriar.
During the pandemic, Delhi Airport had taken several measures like a contactless boarding facility, a sanitized environment inside and outside the terminals, etc.
Delhi Airport had received the ACI Health Accreditation twice during the pandemic and it was declared the second safest airport in the world by Safe Travel Barometer’.
These measures have helped in building confidence among flyers that ‘flying is safe.
Driven by domestic traffic, Delhi Airport has now become the world’s second busiest airport. International travel, which started at the end of March 2022, is yet to recover and it is at about 70% of the pre-Covid level.
