Flight operations hit due to poor patronage

Airport sources said some flights had to take off with less than 10 passengers.

The ever-busy airport wore a deserted look as more than 100 flight services were restricted. While a flight to Kurnool took off with just two passengers, nine passengers travelled in a Thoothukudi-bound flight.

Flights to Madurai, Tiruchy and Mysore departed with 12, 14 and 16 passengers respectively.

Before the emergence of the third wave, about 170 to 180 flights

were operated daily and the airport witnessed a footfall of 30,000 to 40,000 passengers daily.

“Once the third wave came, the number of domestic passengers has seen a significant decline,” sources said and added that a total of 162 flights—81 arrivals and 82 departures—were operated on Sunday, that too with fewer passengers.

However, flights to Coimbatore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkatta took off with more than 150 passengers.