Emirates Studying Viability Of Launching Flight Service From AP

Following the launching of capital building works at Amaravati, the TDP-led NDA coalition is keen for increasing flight connectivity to Vijayawada from both domestic and international destinations

Vijayawada/Visakhapatnam: Both Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada are vying with each other for getting a direct flight to Dubai by Emirates to enable fliers to have hassle-free connectivity to Europe and the United States.

A delegation from Emirates is now in discussion with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Vijayawada Airport Director Laksmikant Reddy to find out feasibility on operating a flight between Dubai and Vijayawada.

Presently, Visakhapatnam has direct flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok whereas Vijayawada has a direct flight to Sharjah by Air India Express from October, 2022. Flights are operated from Visakhapatnam International Airport by Scoot and AirAsia.

For want of a convenience flight, passengers are being forced to take a circuitous trip and spend more time in layovers in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. "A service by Emirates will go a long way as Visakhapatnam has a huge catchment area spread over Chattisgarh and Odisha," said Tours and Travel Association of Andhra (TTAA) president K Vijay Mohan.

He told Bizz Buzz that there has been a long-pending demand to ply a direct flight from Visakhapatnam due to heavy demand to visit the US and Europe.

He said before the pandemic, Visakhapatnam had a flight to Dubai with a stopover in Hyderabad. The flight had a quota of 60 tickets from Visakhapatnam and it used to operate with 100 per cent occupancy.

Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation has already represented to the government to introduce a direct flight to Dubai due to growing demand.

Following the launching of capital building works at Amaravati, the TDP-led NDA coalition is keen for increasing flight connectivity to Vijayawada from both domestic and international destinations. A world-class international airport is now under construction at Bhogapuram, about 40 km from Visakhapatnam by the GMR Group, which is expected to be ready by June, 2026.

After a recent review meeting, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said they are keen on improving regional connectivity by taking up construction of greenfield airports at the district level and exploring introducing international flights to Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati.