The general sluggishness in the economy notwithstanding, the non-metro airports have averaged a 6.7-per cent growth in international traffic in April this year compared to April 2000.
This is in sharp contrast to the 1.1 per cent negative growth that the metro airports posted in April 2001.
The overall growth in international traffic for April this year over April 2000 is also negative at 0.1 per cent.
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While the drop in international traffic at the metros is explained by the virtual absence of vacationers from western India, particularly from Gujarat, the growth in passenger volume in the non-metros is attributed to the diversion of traffic from the main centres.
With several airlines adding capacity in the non-metro routes, passengers avoided travelling via the metros.
"The stock market meltdown has also dampened business environment which is reflected in the lower growth in metro air-traffic," an analyst said.
Two years ago, Indian Airlines had introduced direct flights from Bangalore to Singapore, Bangkok and Malaysia.
The drop in traffic at Chennai and Hyderabad can be linked directly to a surge in the number of passengers from Bangalore.
"Passengers obviously find it convenient to fly directly from Bangalore rather than take diversions to Chennai or Hyderabad to fly abroad," an analyst said.
Data compiled by the Airports Authority of India reveal that non-metro airports, including Goa, Amritsar and Tiruchirapalli, handled a total of 1,61,858 international passengers during April 2001, a growth of 6.7 per cent over last April.
The metro airports, including Tiruvananthapuram, handled 10,05,126 international passengers in April 2001 as against 10,16,253 passengers in April last.
International airlines, however, said that things have already started looking up. Lufthansa's booking figures for August-September are already touching last year's level.
"The downtrend over the first three months is now reversing. The second half of 2001 will see normalisation of traffic," an executive with the German carrier said.
Lufthansa is introducing a thrice-a-week Bangalore-Frankfurt flight from September. The airline recognises Bangalore as an important emerging hub in south India and feels it should be connected to the international network.
Air France is also exploring possibilities of another Mumbai-Paris flight from November. An Air France executive says: "Once we get permission for our Mumbai flight, we will probably look at introducing flights from other Indian cities, including Bangalore."
Air-India recently relaunched the London terminator from Delhi. It will also be introducing a new flight from Mumbai to Hong Kong.
Hyderabad too is emerging a popular centre, particularly with West Asia. Over the past couple of months, Indian Airlines and Emirates have introduced flights on the Hyderabad-Dubai route.
In tune with the rise in demand, these carriers are also looking to add capacity on routes from the non-metros.