COIMBATORE: Passenger traffic from Coimbatore International Airport to Gulf destinations has fallen by nearly 50 per cent as ongoing geopolitical tensions continue to disrupt international air traffic.
Flight services between Coimbatore and Abu Dhabi have remained suspended for the past 13 days, while flights to Sharjah have only partially resumed, with a sharp decline in passenger numbers.
Until recently, more than 30 flights were operated daily from Coimbatore to international destinations such as Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, in addition to several domestic routes across India. However, flight operations were severely disrupted following the outbreak of conflict in the region, and services have yet to return to normal.
Data provided by airport authorities shows that the Sharjah service resumed on March 9 with the arrival of 170 passengers to Coimbatore, while only 76 passengers departed from the city.
“No flights were operated on March 10 and March 11. On March 12, a flight from Sharjah brought 162 passengers to Coimbatore, while 104 passengers departed from here. Overall, outbound passenger traffic from Coimbatore has declined by nearly 50 per cent,” an airport official said.
Airport Director Mohammed Arif said that 2.16 lakh passengers had travelled from Coimbatore to Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Singapore over the past 10 months.
“However, due to the ongoing war-related tension, both flight services and passenger numbers have declined significantly. After services were suspended from February 28, flights to Sharjah resumed on March 9, while flights to Abu Dhabi are yet to resume. We expect the situation to improve in the coming days,” he said.