Mangaluru: Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has operationalised two additional passenger boarding aerobridges, taking the total number of such facilities at the airport to six.

The new facility gives the airlines much needed operational flexibility to use it, especially during monsoon where shifting passengers from the plane on the apron to the terminal and vice-versa from the open bay poses a challenge, a release from MIA said here on Thursday.

Attached to the new integrated terminal building, these aerobridges also enable the airport to optimally utilise the 11 parking stands available on the apron. While six of these stands are connected to the terminal with aerobridges, the remaining are open bays.

The airport operationalised the new aerobridges in consultation with the stakeholders that includes the airlines and the airport security group of CISF to ensure a seamless experience for the passengers.

The aerobridges can be used with narrow-bodied planes like Airbus A320, A321 or Boeing 737-800 that the airlines operating to this airport utilise for domestic and international operations to the coastal city.

The airport has been using aerobridges since 2010 and has steadily gone on to increase their numbers to the current six.