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Rise in Covid cases hits traffic at Lohegaon airport

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

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The ongoing surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra has caused a 20% dip in passenger traffic at the Lohegaon airport.


“Till last month, nearly 13,000 passengers daily passed through the airport. Now, it has dropped to around 8,000 per day,” Pune airport director Kuldeep Singh said.


The number of daily passengers has been on the decline for a few weeks. On March 19, the passenger traffic stood at a little over 8,400. The previous day, it was just over 7,000. Between March 1 and 19, close to 1.62 lakh passengers used the airport. The number stood at 2.04 lakh during the same period in February, and around 3 lakh through January.


“The sudden spike in cases appears to have alarmed flyers. The number of daily flights is unchanged — around 80 — and I think passengers have become accustomed to the travel regulations in different states,” an airport official said.


Sanjay Sharma was among those who put their travel plans on hold for this reason. “I was set to travel home to Delhi next week, but my family advised me to stay back till the cases are back under control,” Sharma said.


Airport officials said they expected the situation to improve in April. “Summer holidays start and under the summer schedule, the airport will have new flights to fresh destinations, so we hope people travel again,” an official said.


DhairyashilVandekar, an aviation expert, said controlling the surge would boost confidence among flyers. “Air travel is the first casualty due to the surge. Pune is among the worst-hit infected cities in the country. The onus is now on the authorities to control the spread,” he said.

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