Vijayawada: AAI spent about Rs 1,000 cr in seven years says Lakshmikanth

Vijayawada : Director of Vijayawada International Airport M Lakshmikantha Reddy said here on Friday that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which owns Vijayawada international Airport is doing its best to develop the infrastructure at the airport.

During an interactive session organised by the AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers), the director said that during the last seven years, the AAI had spent Rs 1,000 crore for the development of the airport. The runway was expanded from 7,500 ft to 11,000 ft and can handle up to Code E aircrafts, which is one short of the largest aircraft category Code F.”

The new terminal was approved in 2019 and got environmental clearance in 2020-21. But it got delayed due to COVID. It will most likely be completed by the end of this year. The new terminal is going to be used for domestic travel and the existing building will be used for international travel.”

On the issue of air cargo from Vijayawada airport, Lakshmikantha Reddy said that the past contractor could not meet the clearances and so the license was cancelled. License for operating air cargo was recently awarded to a new operator and outbound cargo will be started in a month.

The airport has got special permission to transport shrimp. He further stated that the Vijayawada airport is working as a feeder airport to Hyderabad and it needs a big thrust to come of this. Two more flights can be launched to New Delhi due to the demand and a direct flight can be operated to Mumbai. But New Delhi and Mumbai airports are already running at full capacity and it’s difficult to get a slot for flights from Vijayawada. In spite of this, we recommended direct flights to Mumbai and Kolkata. With regard to taxi drivers irritating passengers who arrive, Lakshmikanth Reddy said through a tender a new taxi operator was selected and they will operate taxis along with the existing taxi operator OLA.

Earlier, AP Chambers president Potluri Bhaskara Rao recalled that earlier there were 62 flights operating from Vijayawada airport, which has now come down to 42. There is a need to have direct connectivity to major destinations such as Mumbai, Varanasi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Shirdi and others. The timings of the flight operating from Delhi to Vijayawada are not convenient. The connectivity between Vijayawada and Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada is not convenient due to the timings. Even though Vijayawada airport got international status in 2017, international connectivity is low. Cold storage facilities and air cargo facilities at Vijayawada airport are crucial for the food processing sector.

Representatives from various travel associations and operators, AP Hotels Association, AP Tourism Forum, Builders Association of India, AP MSME Industries Association and entrepreneurs from food processing, hospitality and other sectors participated in the interactive meeting.