Summary

  • Mumbai Airport experienced a record number of flights over the Diwali weekend, with 1,032 departures and arrivals on the day before Diwali.
  • The increase in flights during Diwali is a revenue boost for airlines as thousands of Indians travel to visit family and friends.
  • Mumbai Airport has seen a rise in air traffic over the past year, with airlines like Vistara and Air India expanding their services out of Mumbai.


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The festive cheer (and the rush) returned to Mumbai Airport – India’s second largest – over the Diwali weekend when it handled a record number of flights, particularly on the day before Diwali. The airport has seen a steady rise in flights and passenger numbers as airlines bring back or start new services from Mumbai.


Record Diwali traffic

One of the biggest festivals in India, Diwali, always brings joy to airlines. Thousands of Indians either book months in advance or sometimes shell out higher prices for a chance to visit family and friends, resulting in a revenue boost for carriers. Naturally, this results in peak aircraft movements at several Indian airports due to the rush.

View of the Mumbai ATC tower and surrouding area.

Photo: Manoej Paateel | Shutterstock

On November 11, a day before Diwali, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) handled a record 1,032 departures and arrivals, breaking its previous record set before the pandemic in 2018 with 1,004 flight movements.

From November 11 to 13, BOM handled 2,894 aircraft movements, of which 2,137 were domestic flights and 757 were international. Over the busy weekend, over 500,000 passengers passed through the airport, which released a statement that said,

“This milestone reflects CSMIA’s capability to handle increased air traffic with precision while maintaining high standards of safety, security, and passenger service.”

More flights out of Mumbai

While Diwali is a busy time for most Indian airports, Mumbai has also seen a steady rise in air traffic over the last year. For example, Vistara has focused heavily on expanding out of Mumbai, starting several new international flights to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. It also recently launched its Mumbai-Frankfurt service.

Vistara Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Abs | Shutterstock

Air Canada also resumed its seasonal Toronto-Mumbai service via London Heathrow just before the Diwali rush, anticipating a high load due to the festive season. It is also the carrier’s only fifth freedom flight, allowing it to carry passengers on the lucrative London-Mumbai sector.

Air India will soon start a non-stop Mumbai-Melbourne service on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in December. The airline has also upgraded its aircraft flying out of the city to various US destinations, which now feature all newly acquired Boeing 777s.

The carrier’s Mumbai-San Francisco and Mumbai-New York JFK routes will see Boeing 777-200LRs and Mumbai-Newark, and one of the Mumbai-London services will see the -300ER variant of the aircraft.

Air India Boeing 777-200LR departing San Francisco

Photo: christopheronglv | Shuttertsock

Also read: What to expect from Mumbai’s new airport

With an ever-increasing passenger footfall, Mumbai Airport has also expanded its security screening space to provide its passengers with a better airport experience by easing congestion at peak travel hours.

Earlier this year, Mumbai Airport expanded its Pre-Embarkation Security Check (PESC) facility at Terminal 2. The airport now has a total of 5,735 square meters of dedicated space for security screening and 328 square meters of newly created domestic transfer security check area.

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