SHILLONG, Oct 7: After experiencing a state of dormancy for years, business is booming at the Shillong Airport at Umroi with the airport catering to more than 10,000 passengers in the last three months with over 400 flights being operated in and out of the airport.
The Director of Shillong Airport said that in July this year, 122 flights operated from the airport carrying 1,341 passengers.
The number grew in August and 132 flights catered to as many as 3,621 passengers while in September, 152 flights carrying 5,761 passengers operated from the airport.
A source from the airport said that the efforts to provide safe air travel from the Shillong Airport during the second wave of the pandemic resulted in the high number of fliers choosing the airport.
On Thursday, 376 passengers flew in and out of the airport, which is a record for single-day footfall. The airport followed all safety guidelines to fly in 193 passengers while 183 passengers departed for various destinations from the airport.
The consistent rise in air traffic volume at Shillong Airport has been supplemented by the government’s decision to open the state for tourism activities and relaxation of the COVID-19 guidelines.
“Our airport employees are making all efforts to ensure a safe travel from and into Shillong and all our stakeholders are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We will follow all safety guidelines each time to ensure no inconvenience is caused to our passengers,” an Airport official said.
Presently Indigo and FlyBig are operating regular services from the airport while Alliance Air is going to resume its operation from October 18.