VIJAYAWADA: The long wait for international flight services from Vijayawada airport is all set to come to an end. The first international flight is going to fly from Vijayawada airport to Singapore on October 25.
The international flight services will be operated by IndiGo.Though Gannavaram airport got international status in May 2017, the commencement of international flight services has taken a lot of time. The international flight service scheduled to start on October 2, was delayed.
Earlier, several airlines which evinced interest in the operation of international flights from Gannavaram airport backed out. Air India proposed to operate a flight to Dubai from Vijayawada early this year. However, clearance was not given for operation of the flight service due to security reasons.
Meanwhile, the airport authorities initiated talks with other airlines like Singapore-based SilkAir and Dubai-based airline Emirates and Flydubai. Finally, IndiGo has come forward to operate international flights from Vijayawada to Singapore.
Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary, Energy, I&I, CRDA, disclosed that direct flights from Vijayawada to Singapore would be operated from October 25. The flights will fly from Vijayawada to Singapore and vice versa twice a week -- Tuesday and Thursday, he added.
Speaking to TNIE, Virender Singh, CEO of AP Airports Development Corporation, said, “The much awaited international flight service will start from October 25 as the customs authorities gave clearance for it on Thursday. IndiGo will officially announce the operation of international flights by Monday. All we want is to make air travel affordable for the passengers and the fare will be less than that of direct flight from Hyderabad to Singapore.”
The airfare is likely to be below Rs 10,000. As of now, Gannavaram airport with 26 flights and over 50 services, handles about one lakh passengers a month.