Starting a direct flight to the Middle-East from the city can open up new growth opportunities, says K. Vijay Mohan, president, Tours and Travels Association of Andhra.
| Photo Credit: File photo
The alleged lack of proactive initiatives of the State government, restrictions on slots, which is resulting in airline operators shying away from the airport, and reduced aircraft movements are all taking a toll on the growth of Visakhapatnam International Airport, despite its tremendous growth potential in both passenger and cargo segments.
“We appreciate the State Government’s initiatives to increase overseas flights from the State, and in such a case, Visakhapatnam is any day better suited for flights to the Middle-East countries. On one hand, the State government has announced big plans of making Vizag as an IT hub, a tourism hub and financial capital, but on the other hand international connectivity from the city to the Middle-East for onward connections to various destinations across the world is not being promoted as it should,” say representatives of air traveller associations.
“Emirates had planned a feasibility study for operation of a flight from A.P. to Dubai. The State government is pushing for Vijayawada though Air India Express is already operating a flight from Vijayawada to Sharjah. A second flight to the Gulf from there is unlikely to have good occupancy. Air India had operated a flight from Visakhapatnam to Dubai via Hyderabad, with overwhelming patronage for around seven years, before it was withdrawn during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says K. Vijay Mohan, president, Tours and Travels Association of Andhra (TTAA).
“Maximum exports of seafood, particularly shrimp, pharmaceuticals, apparel and finished goods from Andhra Pradesh, are also from Vizag. A 180-seater passenger plane can carry two tonnes of cargo even at full capacity. The flights from Vizag offer this added advantage to airline operators,” he says.
“This is not all. Hyderabad is less than 300 km by road from Vijayawada, and there are a number of flights operating from Hyderabad to the Middle East, and the cost of air travel and air transportation works out much cheaper from Hyderabad. The cost of road transport from Vizag to Hyderabad is comparatively higher, apart from being time consuming,” says Mr. Vijay Mohan.
“We need more late night arrivals and early morning departures from Vizag. But, the Navy has proposed night closure from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. between May and August this year, which will affect operations. Union Minister of Civil Aviation K. Rammohan Naidu has to take up the issue with his defence counterpart,” opines O. Naresh Kumar, vice president of A.P. Air Travellers Association (APATA).
All flights from Vizag both domestic and international flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok — are having very good patronage. There is tremendous demand for a direct flight to Dubai for Vizag ever since the Dubai flight was withdrawn during the pandemic, Airport Director S. Raja Reddy told The Hindu.
Aircraft movements from Visakhapatnam Airport, which stood at 24,182 during pre-COVID-19 in 2018-19, fell to 20,120 during 2023-24. The domestic flight movements fell from 22,376 to 19,653 and international flight movement fell from 1,806 to 467 during the corresponding period.
The cargo movement fell from 4,434 tonnes in 2022-23 to 4,032 tonnes in 2023-24.
Published – February 10, 2025 07:53 pm IST
