VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath and Amalapuram MP GM Harish urged Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu to operate Boeing wide-body aircraft on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad and Rajahmundry-Vijayawada routes to reduce passenger hardship caused by high fares and limited seat availability.
The MPs met the Union Minister at Parliament on Monday and highlighted issues faced by passengers at Vijayawada and Rajahmundry airports.
They also expressed gratitude, on behalf of Andhra Pradesh residents, for the decision allowing Irumudi to be carried as cabin baggage, providing relief to Ayyappa devotees travelling to Sabarimala.
Sivanath said, “Although domestic flights are operating on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad sector, ticket prices range between `18,000 and `20,000, and seats are often unavailable even at such high fares. This has placed an excessive financial burden on passengers and caused widespread inconvenience.”
He added that international tickets such as Vijayawada-Singapore are sometimes available at significantly lower prices.
The MPs noted that ATR aircraft on regional routes have limited baggage capacity, forcing airlines to send luggage on separate flights.
This has affected passengers, particularly those travelling abroad, who often miss connecting flights and face delays. They requested deployment of wider and larger aircraft on busy routes.
To improve connectivity, the MPs sought additional flights from Vijayawada to Delhi and Mumbai with international linkages and new domestic services to Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, and Goa, especially until the National Terminal at Gannavaram Airport becomes operational.
Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said he would discuss the issues with officials and work towards resolving them within three days.
He added that larger aircraft had already been introduced to several AP airports since the NDA government came to power and that aviation infrastructure projects, including Vijayawada International Airport and Bhogapuram Airport, were progressing rapidly.
