Hyderabad airport bullish on overseas expansion, aims to be the third largest in India

GMR Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) aims to be one of the three largest airports in the country with its plans to expand overseas connectivity set to take off in the next few years.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), which runs RGIA, plans to launch flights to countries like the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Hong Kong in the next few months as part of its larger plan to surpass Bengaluru as India's third largest international airport.

"Very soon we will have KLM starting flights between Hyderabad and Amsterdam, Ethiopian Airlines Group is planning to add flights to Hyderabad, Cathay Pacific is looking to start and we are also in talks with Vietnam Airlines to start new flights," senior officials from GMR Hyderabad Airport told Moneycontrol.

They added that negotiations were on with multiple airlines, including Air India, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, to start direct flights to key destinations in the US. "While Hyderabad lacks direct flights to the US, it is remarkable that the city ranks third in terms of passenger traffic to the US, despite having no direct service," the GMR Group said in a response to queries sent by Moneycontrol.

Call for direct flights to the US

Data from the GMR Group shows that more than 1.1 million passengers travelled to the US from Hyderabad in 2023. Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, connect Hyderabad to the US through their respective hubs, the GMR Group said. Hyderabad Airport has seen the traffic to the US peak during January, May, June, July, August and December, the GMR Group added.

Earlier this year, an official delegation comprising ministers D Sridhar Babu and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy as well as senior officials from the Telangana government visiting the US showcased investment opportunities in the state to Delta Airlines and urged it to explore possibilities of introducing a direct flight to Hyderabad.

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is also looking to expand direct flights to emerging markets across India and is planning to launch direct flights to Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Recently, 5,500 Telugu individuals had also signed a petition urging Air India (AI) to establish a direct route between Hyderabad and Dallas (DFW). Dallas boasts one of the largest populations of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Prior to the pandemic, there was a direct flight twice a week between Hyderabad and Chicago.

Fray for the podium spot

RGIA, which is the fourth largest airport in India, will end 2024-25 having handled around 30 million passengers with the number expected to increase to 45 million annually in the next three to five years, SGK Kishore, executive director (south) and chief innovation officer of GMR Airports, said on December 11, adding that the airport will look to create a second runway once passenger traffic reaches close to that figure.

Earlier this year, the airport completed its first phase of the expansions to cater to the rising demand in passenger traffic and augment the passenger handling capacity beyond 34 million passengers.

Earlier this month, GMR Airports also launched its Airport Predictive Operations Centre (APOC) at RGIA. The APOC, which will function as the new airport operations control centre, will leverage advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to streamline operations and pre-empt potential disruptions. It is the first airport in India to be equipped with such a system.

RGIA is the second biggest airport handled by the GMR Group after the Indira Gandhi International Airport handled by Delhi International Airport. Kempegowda International Airport is the third largest airport in India handling close to 40 million passengers every year.

So far in FY25, GMR Airports reported its highest-ever passenger traffic of 7.4 crore, aircraft movements of 4.8 lakh, and cargo handling of 6.5 lakh tonnes. Monthly cargo volumes have consistently exceeded 1,00,000 tonnes since September 2024.

Hyderabad Airport achieved a milestone in October 2024, handling 24 lakh passengers, a 21.7 percent on-year increase. Domestic traffic in the airport grew 22.7 percent, while international traffic increased 16.3 percent. The monthly passenger traffic has consistently surpassed 20 lakh since October 2023.

Kempegowda airport is managed by Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), which is a joint venture of Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation and Airports Authority of India, Fairfax Financial and Siemens Project Ventures.