Mumbai airport welcomes 27 million passengers, cargo soars by 13 per cent in 2024

In addition to rise in passenger traffic, cargo handling at Mumbai airport saw a robust 13 per cent increase. Representation pic/iStock

Mumbai airport saw growth in both passenger traffic and cargo handling in the first half of 2024. The airport welcomed a total of 26,882,130 passengers between April and September 2024, marking a 5 per cent increase in passengers recorded in the same period in 2023.

"The surge in international travel has been particularly noteworthy, with international passenger numbers increasing by 11 per cent - 7,427,829 passengers from April to September 2024 compared to 6,682,122 in the same period in 2023," said a source at Mumbai airport.

"Domestic travel also saw a positive trend, with a 3 per cent increase in passenger numbers - 19,254,301 passengers from April to September 2024 compared to 18,649,780 in the same period in 2023," the source added. Cargo handling also experienced a 13 per cent increase, with 447,435 metric tons of cargo handled in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year.

"Cargo operations saw a significant boost, with 13 per cent growth to 447,435 metric tons (MT) of cargo handled in the first half of FY25, compared to 397,654 MT in FY24. This included 120,160 MT of domestic and 327,275 MT of international cargo. This growth is attributed to international cargo, driven by the onboarding of new airline partners such as Challenge Air, Vietnam Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, SF Airlines, Alfa Sky Airlines, and Sky Vision Airlines," said a source at Mumbai airport.

The source added, "The top five commodities for domestic cargo in the first half of FY 2024-25 were agricultural products, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, post office mail, and consol cargo. Similarly, the top five commodities for international cargo were automobiles, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, electronics, and couriers."