For the country’s aviation sector, 2008 was arguably among the most controversial years, as for the first time, Mumbai witnessed the cabin crew staff, in full uniform, taking to the roads to protest job cuts.

But beyond that, the real action across the sector lay in the constant losses that commercial airlines were making, mostly propelled by rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices and high operational costs. And in a way, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) was at the receiving end.

Mumbai airport, being the country’s busiest — despite being overtaken by Delhi for a short period earlier this year— suffered when spiralling losses hit the airlines and they resorted to trimming flight schedules and increasing fare prices. This resulted in fewer flight movements at the airport bringing down passenger movements considerably.

However, air traffic movement (ATM) figures obtained from the Mumbai International Airport Limited for the months of September and onwards reveals that post-downturn, the airport’s traffic and passenger movements are getting back to usual. But is still falls in the red when compared to the same months of last year.

The airport has reported a consistent rise in ATMs from an average of 584 movements per day in September to 587 in October and 630 in November. But compared to the same months last year, the numbers show a decline of 6.8 per cent (September) and 12.2 per cent (October). The 2007 ATM figure for November was not available but according to Mumbai airport director Philip Cash, there is a huge distortion in the November figure for this year and the figure for December is awaited and would make for interesting reading. According to a senior airport official, ATM figure for December could be between 680 and 690 per day.

Passenger movement figures have also taken a hit for the latter part of the year. While growth rate for the domestic sector has shot down phenomenally from a positive 5.4 per cent in May 2008 to -22 per cent in September, the international sector growth rate rolled down to 5.6 per cent in September from 9.5 per cent in May. The airport holds the distinction of handling the maximum number of passengers annually at 25.8 million for 2007-08.

However for Cash, “It is very difficult to predict next year’s ATM trends as in the current months traffic is usually high and is driven by seasonal traffic. We’ll have to wait till February when things settle to normal, even globally.”

Tracing ATM figures from March ’08, one comes across a ‘U’ grap — from 662 ATMs in March, flight movements dropped to 591 in July only to regain at 630 in November. But, according to another senior airport official, coinciding that graph with the drop in ATF prices cannot be the only reason, although lower ATF prices can be one of the reasons. “It’s a combination of factors that include seasonal movements and the fact that airlines are enjoying some relief,” said Cash.