Airport authorities in Ranchi have requested the state government to provide at least five more flights, citing an increase in the passenger density owing to relaxations in the lockdown curbs.

“We have requested the government to provide us more flights as the count of passengers is increasing. They are considering our request,” said airport director Vinod Sharma, explaining that the increase would mean 15 daily flights from now on.

Birsa Munda Airport has been operating at a flight frequency of less than half of the usual number since resumption of services in May-end. “We will now require at least five more flights to meet the demand of passengers,” Sharma said on Tuesday,

Birsa Munda Airport here operated at least 30 flights connecting the state to almost all major cities across India before a nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 24. However, once flight services resumed on May 25, the Ranchi airport was permitted to operate only seven flights, airport officials said. While the count of flights gradually increased to 10 by August end, the number was still less than half of the number of flights that took off from Ranchi before the lockdown.

“Many migrants who had returned during the lockdown are returning to work. Some frequent flyers have also started travelling again for work. It will be helpful if we get at least half of our flights,” said Sharma.

Currently, Ranchi is only connected to New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai by air. Prior to the lockdown, Ranchi had flights to Calcutta and Patna as well. Some private players, airport sources said, have shown interest in starting flights from Ranchi to Chennai in the near future. The airport also has an international bay, but it is yet to get any international flights.

Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth, a member of the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC), admitted that the passenger density had increased and Ranchi was in need of more flights to meet the demand. He said that the committee would hold a meeting this week and take a call on the requirement of flights in Ranchi.

“I will personally speak to the civil aviation minister, and ask him to increase flights from Ranchi,” said Seth, who was in New Delhi on Tuesday.

A majority of passengers travelling from Ranchi by air were migrants, who had returned home during the lockdown, said Seth, adding that most of the migrants were flying to New Delhi from Ranchi. “We still have a rule of quarantining visitors for 14 days in Jharkhand, which is why the density of businessmen travelling from other cities has reduced. The passenger density will increase when the 14-day-quarantine norm is done away with,” the local MP said.