The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad (IATA: HYD, ICAO: VOHS) crossed a milestone on March 30th, which largely went unnoticed by social media and mainstream media. The airport became the fourth airport in the country to handle 25 million passengers or more in a financial year. The other three are Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The airport started operations on March 23, 2008 and has been instrumental in using innovative techniques to manage costs and growth. One amongst them was having a dual use taxiway which doubles up as a runway and helps operate even during runway maintenance and not take a closure like other airports. During expansion, the airport had a temporary departure terminal for international departures to ensure it can cater to the growing domestic crowds. The airport also acts as the base for GMR’s MRO, training institute amongst others.
At the end of February, Hyderabad had recorded 22,828,262 passengers in eleven months ending February. This was a growth of 20% over the last financial year. In the 2023 On-Time Performance (OTP) Review prepared by aviation analytics firm Cirium, the airport was ranked second with an OTP of 84.42%. The airport currently sees operations from 10 domestic airlines, the maximum – which it shares with Bengaluru Airport.
Hyderabad Airport is connected to 66 domestic and 19 international destinations at the end of February. The airport saw a good jump in both aero and non-aero revenue with a 51% YoY jump in Aero Revenue and 18% YoY jump in non-aero revenue.
What does it mean?
The airport has been undisputed number four in India in terms of domestic traffic and is also number four by total footfall. However, the airport has lacked international traffic with Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kochi ahead of it in international traffic.
A jump into the next category, breaching the psychological barrier of 25 million will help the airport attract more airlines. It has lost the Southern hub for Air India to Bengaluru but all is not lost just yet. The new status will help the airport attract more airlines. It has recently seen Lufthansa return after a decade and an increase in frequency even before the start of operations.
Roughly 65% of all domestic operations at Hyderabad are by IndiGo and LCCs account for 87% of all operations. Both Air India and Vistara have limited presence, which is roughly 6% each.
Future
The airport closed the last financial year with 21 million passengers, with a 10 year CAGR of 9.7% for passengers and 5.9% for cargo. The airport will reach 36 million passenger capacity now with an eventual capacity of 80 million passengers. For context, Delhi – the largest airport in India recorded 65.3 million passengers last financial year. Hyderabad airport has an immense landbank available for growth. The airport has not changed ownerships unlike Bengaluru which gives it a stable management and outlook.
With capacity available, both airside and passenger side as the new expanded terminal is commissioned, one can expect airlines to make a beeline for Hyderabad for lack of other options, especially at Mumbai and Delhi. Will passengers keep pace with the expansion and help airlines fill up planes at the right prices?
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