Mumbai, Jan 11 (IANS): The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) notched its highest monthly traffic for 2023 in December when over 4.88 million passengers travelled, an official said here on Thursday.

This marked a 13 per cent growth compared with December 2022 when 4.33 million fliers travelled and a 112 percent recovery in passenger traffic as compared to the pre-Pandemic era.

The highest passenger movement was witnessed on December 16 when 165,258 passengers travelled and the month witnessed a total of 28,462 flights, setting a new standard for the winter holiday travel season.

The air passengers in December 2023 comprised 84,166 arrivals and 81,092 departures and the air traffic movements included 7,287 international flights and 21,175 domestic flights.

Last month’s passenger distribution showed a dominant 47 percent from the Middle East, 28 per cent from Asia Pacific Region and 15 percent from Europe.

New Delhi, Bengaluru and Goa ranked the top three domestic destinations from CSMIA while Dubai, London and Abu Dhabi continued to be the preferred choice for international travellers.

The Mumbai-New Delhi sector alone recorded a substantial 622,424 passengers with IndiGo, Air India and Vistara leading in the domestic and international routes, said a CSMIA spokesperson.