Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) has announced that the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB) has been awarded the ‘Best Regional Airport in Central Asia’ by SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2015. The World Airport Awards are based on 13.02 million customer nominations across 112 nationalities of air travellers and included 550 airports worldwide. Regional airports refers to the airports operating short international and domestic flights, rather than having a vast intercontinental network.
G V Sanjay Reddy, managing director, BIAL said, “This recognition is solely based on passenger feedback and we feel honoured. Receiving this iconic industry award is backed with the efforts of multiple partners at the airport who strive each and every day to provide a seamless experience to our passengers. This is a reflection of their passion and collaboration. It is indeed heartening that the results are being seen and felt by our passengers across the globe who have rated us to win this award.”
Bengaluru has seen a significant increase in passenger traffic and growth due to the high-yield business traffic market and the inherent value proposition in catering to the business travelers and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) market. Additionally, BIAL has made consistent efforts to offer passengers seamless inter-regional and intra-regional connectivity and introduce services that improve accessibility to other regions from the airport.
In an effort to give impetus to intra-regional connectivity the airport in collaboration with KSRTC introduced ‘Flybus’ in 2013 to connect passengers to Mysuru from the airport. Further, carriers like SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Airways, Air India and Air Costa have rapidly expanded in terms of new routes and frequencies offering the region with good connectivity. The tier-II cities of the region are also well-connected by regional Jet/ATRs from KIAB.
Edward Plaisted, CEO, Skytrax said, “Kempegowda International Airport has once again risen in the global ranking table and to be named the Best Regional Airport in Central Asia and India is a fantastic achievement. The definition of Regional airport within the award results is an airport that primarily serves regional international and domestic routes, and whilst some have a small number of long haul destinations, their main role is from a regional perspective.”