Time for Vijayawada Airport to go international

Vijayawada: In a dream come true for people in south coastal Andhra Pradesh, Vijayawada airport on Tuesday formally turned international. The first-ever international flight landed at the city airport, heralding a new era in the civil aviation of the bifurcated state. Vice-President, M Venkaiah Naidu, flagged off the maiden international flight from Vijayawada airport. He laid foundation stone for the integrated terminal.

Airport authorities welcomed the maiden flight, IndiGo 6E34, with a water cannon salute. The passengers were received with bouquets and gifts. One of the pilots was a native of Vijayawada. Two of the passengers hailed from Warangal in Telangana. The Indigo airlines will operate flights from Vijayawada to Singapore on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Vijayawada airport, though declared an international airport last year, received the first flight on Tuesday after the state government extended financial assistance to the airline in the form of viability gap funding (VGF).


The maiden flight had 90% occupancy. The fare was also very low, ranging from 7,200 to 16,000. The launch of the international services from Vijayawada may impact the air traffic at Hyderabad airport.

Addressing passengers, Vice-President Naidu said the Vijayawada airport, which was no better than a bus station in a small town, had registered tremendous growth in the past four years. Union minister of civil aviation Suresh Prabhu said aviation sector is witnessing unprecedented growth level of 20% plus. As residual state of AP needs a boost in infrastructure development. He said air cargo policy would be introduced to benefit farmers by exporting product to global market.