Visakhapatnam :
The Indian Navy seems to have finally decided to give Vizagites and people of Coastal Andhra the perfect New Year gift. Come January, the naval authorities have agreed to completely throw open the Vizag airport for 24/7 operations round the year. Currently, the Navy allows only 24/7 operations thrice a week and the airport is closed for late night flights on the remaining four days of the week.
Making this announcement on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) meet here on Wednesday, Union minister of state for commerce and industry D Purandeswari said it was confirmed to her by none other than Eastern Naval Command Flag officer commanding-in-chief vice admiral Anil Chopra.
“The airport will be operational for five days a week from November 1, 2013, and all through the year from January first week next year. It is a good opportunity as it will not only facilitate trade, but also result in expanding the international outreach,” Purandeswari, who is also the sitting MP from Visakhapatnam, said.
Vizag airport, which is under control of the Navy, is the only other international airport in the state after Hyderabad. While two direct international flights ferry passengers from the city to Dubai and Singapore, its growth has been hampered due to lack of round the clock operations.
The opening up of the airport to full-fledged operations is expected to bring many more international and domestic carriers flying in. At present, various airlines operate 30 services (15 flights) daily to different domestic and international destinations from Visakhapatnam airport, which has a 10,000-ft long runway.
Air Travellers Association of India president D Varada Reddy said the opening up of the airport for round the clock operations will immediately see passenger traffic rise by 10% as many more international and domestic flights will kick off, which is why the Indian Navy should allow 24/7/365 operations immediately instead of waiting for November 1 or January 1.
“With the green signal from the Navy, we will get many more flights in the next six months. Vizag airport’s financial performance too has been encouraging,” said Visakhapatnam Air Travellers Association (VATA) representative P Vishnu Kumar Raju.
“We will get more international flights thanks to this decision. Representatives of Thai Airways have already visited the Port City and are keen on running direct services to Bangkok, while Air Arabia authorities will also be visiting the city in October to explore the possibility of direct flights,” said Vizag Development Council representative O Naresh Kumar.
While the revenues clocked by Vizag airport have doubled in the last four years from Rs 12.29 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 30 crore in 2012-13, the number of passengers flying into Vizag too has soared in the last decade, crossing the one million mark in 2012-13 as compared to 1.74 lakh in 2003-04. As per the statistics of the Airports Authority of India, the number of incoming and outgoing passengers has already flown past the 85,000 mark per month. Cargo handling too has witnessed a steep 70% increase from 668.94 tonnes in 2004-05 to 1786.58 tonnes in 2012-13.
The move to step up 24/7 connectivity from November 1 will see Singaporean carrier Silk Airways add one more flight on Saturdays from November 4. Silk Airways currently operates direct flights thrice a week. Domestic carrier IndiGo is already set to start direct Hyderabad-Vizag-Mumbai and Mumbai-Vizag-Hyderabad flights from September 20, taking up the total number of arrivals and departures to 34 daily.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam> Visakhapatnam Airport / by TNN / September 19th, 2013