VISAKHAPATNAM: SpiceJet, a private airliner, will operate a dedicated cargo flight from Visakhapatnam to Surat, Kolkata and Chennai from February 25, general manager Omkar Singh said on Saturday. Speaking to TNIE, he said that Boeing 737 flight will be operated from Vizag on six days of the week, except Sunday. The service is expected to give a big boost to marine and pharmaceutical exports from the city. Currently, a lot of cargo is going by road to Chennai and Hyderabad airports for onward export due to lack of cargo flights from Visakhapatnam.
For instance, due to the delay in delivery of live shrimp to Surat has been causing losses to domestic exporters for quite sometime. Dedicated cargo services from the city is the only solution to the problems of entrepreneurs, Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers’ Association (APATA) said in a statement. It said the SpiceJet cargo service will give a boost to Brand Vizag as this is the first dedicated cargo flight from the city. The flight will carry cargo mostly perishable foods, including marine cargo, it said. “We have requested SpiceJet to introduce another flight to carry pharmaceutical cargo as there is immense potential. The SpiceJet CEO chief executive officer has agreed to start that once the first cargo flight is a success,” APATA representatives Naresh Kumar, DS Varma and Kumar Raja said.
They thanked MP MVV Satyanarayana and airport director Raja Kishore for facilitating the flight. They urged the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to commission the N5 taxi track and parallel taxi track at Visakhapatnam International Airport. The route of the flight will be Chennai-Vizag-Kolkata and Chennai-Vizag-Surat. The flight will be operated on these routes on alternate days.