Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) handled over one crore passengers for the second consecutive year. In December 2024, CIAL also recorded a historic milestone by handling a million passengers in a single month, said Minister for Industries, Law and Coir P. Rajeeve in a social media post.
He mentioned that CIAL aims to handle 1.25 crore passengers this year with the introduction of more domestic and international services. The Minister said that CIAL’s passenger growth reflects the airport’s continuous progress and highlighted that the addition of a five-star hotel and the CIAL Lounge 0484 will further boost its capacity to serve more passengers.
The airport handled over a crore passengers between January and December 2024, surpassing the same milestone in 2023-24 with an 18% increase compared to 2022-23, which saw 89,28,984 passengers. During 2023-24, CIAL managed 63.50% of Kerala’s total air passenger traffic. Domestic travel accounted for 55.99 lakh passengers, while international travel reached 49.31 lakh.
CIAL has introduced the Fast-Track Immigration (FTI) service, an initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs to speed up immigration procedures. The Digi-Yatra system, which facilitates seamless boarding for domestic passengers, is already in operation. With the launch of the FTI-TTP system, international travellers can complete immigration procedures in seconds after one-time registration on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ dedicated portal.
Eight biometric e-gates have been set up, with four in the arrival and departure areas, to facilitate fast-track immigration services.
Published – January 19, 2025 07:58 pm IST