Bengaluru: The passenger traffic at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) registered a growth of 22.5 per cent in 2016. With this, the KIA continues to retain the tag of the busiest airport in south India.

In 2016, the airport received 22.18 million passengers. The airport also recorded the highest number of passenger traffic in south India in December, with 2.15 million using the facility. Meanwhile, air traffic movement (ATM) witnessed an increase of 19.9%.

G.V. Sanjay Reddy, managing director, Bangalore International Airport, which operates the airport, said in press release the year 2016 was yet another strong year for KIA in terms of passenger traffic.

Growth was recorded in domestic and international passengers, which stood at 25.5% and 9% respectively. The airport, which is used by around 60,000 passengers every day, also saw cargo operations reaching new highs, with an overall growth of 9.4%. In November last year, the airport handled a record total of 2 million tonnes of cargo since it began operations in May 2008.