AP Chambers urges IndiGo airlines to launch direct flights from Vijayawada to Dubai, Singapore

AP Chambers urges IndiGo to start direct flights from Vijayawada to Dubai and Singapore, highlighting potential for international connectivity.

Members of the Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) on Thursday urged IndiGo Airlines authorities to operate direct flights from Vijayawada to Dubai and to Singapore.

AP Chambers President P. Bhaskar Rao, while interacting with the IndiGo Airlines team, led by Associate Director-Sales (South India) Saurabh Sachdeva, highlighted the immense potential of operating direct flights from Vijayawada to international destinations.

Mr. Bhaskar thanked the airline official for operating direct flights from Vijayawada to Kurnool, and said that Vijayawada and its surrounding area have a large NRI population, with a potential for international connectivity to places like Dubai and Singapore, among other destinations. He recalled that before the pandemic, IndiGo had operated direct flights from Vijayawada to Singapore with over 80% occupancy.

“With industrial activity picking up in the Amaravati region, the Vijayawada airport has witnessed 30,000-40,000 increase in passenger traffic. Majority of the flights from Vijayawada now operate with a load factor of 80%,” Mr. Bhaskar Rao said.

He also requested for larger aircrafts like Airbus or Boeing, to be put into operations as they have the capacity to carry two to three tonnes of belly cargo, and the Vijayawada airport is equipped with the necessary infrastructure to handle such aircraft. Presently most of the aircrafts operated by IndiGo from Vijayawada are small aircrafts.

On the domestic routes front, Mr. Bhaskar Rao requested for new routes with direct flights to destinations like Vijayawada-Varanasi, Vijayawada-Ahmedabad or Surat and Vijayawada-Kolkata via Visakhapatnam.

He also wanted the officials to explore code-sharing agreement for flights operating from Vijayawada to facilitate seamless booking for passengers, efficient baggage transfers, and better connectivity to major international destinations.