In Remal run-up, Kol had most passengers per flight
Times of India | 29 May 2024
Kolkata: In the final 48 hours leading up to cyclone Remal, there were more people per flight leaving or arriving in the city than on an usual summer day.
While the average load factor, or number of passengers per flight, in Kolkata is around 155, the figure jumped to 162 on Saturday and to 173 on Sunday as people either scrambled to get out or hurried to fly in.
As Remal barrelled towards the Bengal and Bangladesh coasts, Kolkata airport was shut for 21 hours as a precautionary measure from noon on Sunday. Flights resumed at 9 am on Monday. An airport official said nearly all flights that left the city on Sunday were packed to capacity. The situation was similar on Saturday, with only a few seats going empty. They are confident that had the airport-closure decision been announced on Friday evening, all flights on Saturday would also have been full.
Usually, flights into and out of Kolkata record such heavy loads during Durga Puja in Oct and around Christmas in Dec. While the average departing passenger count on a domestic flight is usually 160, the flights that flew out till noon on Sunday had an average of 183 flyers on board.
Also, the average passenger arrival count was higher on Saturday and Sunday, at 167 per flight, well over the average arrivals of 150 per flight during this time of the year.
The count was higher on the international flights as well, with the average departing passenger count rising from the usual 155 to 173 on Sunday. International arrivals, on the other hand, was up from 160 to 169 passengers.
The total passenger count on Saturday and Sunday were, however, lower than the preceding days because fewer flights operated. While some were cancelled on Saturday, flights could only operate till noon on Sunday.
Incidentally, no such rush was seen on Monday, when flights resumed after the 21-hour gap, and the average load on flights was 156.