Even as the airport at Rajamahendravaram has extended night landing facility and is operating six flights a day to Hyderabad, the demand for more and more flights to other destinations has been increasing steadily. Particularly, the local trade community is under the impression that the services of the airport can be improved manifold to cater to the needs of the market demand.
Absence of direct flight services to metropolitan cities such as Mumbai and Chennai from Rajamahendravaram is forcing the shippers, who have to book travel tickets to their ship’s crew, to bear the additional expenses by booking tickets for break journey at Hyderabad. Same is the case with crew members from other cities to the ports here to sign on the ships.
According to the statistics, the two ports in Kakinada receive 72 ships per month either for import or export cargo from and to foreign destinations. In the current fiscal, 864 vessels called at Kakinada ports and about 40 per cent of the ships have signed-off/signed-on their crew. Thus the traders claim justification for the flight connectivity to Mumbai and Chennai from the local airport. Enquiries with the traders revealed that there is demand for direct flights for Tirupati, Bengaluru and Goa too, along with the two major trade cities.
“Till recently, there used to be a flight, which was operated to Chennai and back that was always going full. For the reasons unknown, the flight has been cancelled thus forcing the Chennai-bound passengers to fly via Hyderabad. Nevertheless to say it is a costly affair,” observes Dantu Surya Rao, chairman of the Cocanada Chamber of Commerce.
Director of the Airport Authority of India Raj Kishore, however, says the connectivity can be improved once the expansion works are completed.
“The expansion will be completed in the next 18 months. Once we have done it, even the Boeings can land at the airport,” he says.
