Andhra Pradesh government promises public transport facility to all its airports to increase air traffic

Andhra Pradesh government has agreed to provide public transport facilities to all the operational airports in the state connecting them with the nearby cities in a bid to encourage air connectivity across the state.

In a meeting with the airline operators chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said his government would extend all possible support to make the state an airline hub.

Chief minister Naidu suggested them to participate in the bidding for the routes involving AP airports in the upcoming Regional Connectivity Scheme. AP government has also come forward to subsidise the costs of the airline companies in making the airports in the state as their night landing base.  

 

"Unlike in big cities, the connectivity to the regional airports from the nearby towns and cities has been an issue. A person living in Guntur may find it difficult to catch an early morning flight at Gannavaram airport while the private cabs charge exorbitantly. Public transport facility can fix this connectivity gap at a reasonable cost for passengers,"an airline company representative said.

AP government has been currently providing viability gap funding to airlines on two routes between Vijjayawada-Kadapa and Vijayawada-Tirupati and is encouraging the operators to introduce more services between these routes besides between Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada-Hyderabad.

In addition to the six operational airports the government is going ahead with the bidding process for the new greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district. It is also constructing a new no-frills airport at Dagadarthi in Nellore district, which falls under Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor. The government has already reduced VAT on aviation turbine fuel to 1% to help make the destinations in AP more viable for the airline operators.

Currently, Air Costa has its base in Vijayawada while the other airlines have been operating their services to Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, and Vizag via Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and other big cities.