The CII Partnership Summit-2017, which got under way in the city on Friday, witnessed the operation of 15 non-scheduled flights, which were handled by Visakhapatnam International Airport in addition to the scheduled flights operated from the airport every day.
“Though it was a big challenge for us, we ensured that the scheduled operations were not affected and all of them landed and took off at the right time. The chartered aircraft which flew down for the mega event include: a private Boeing 737 aircraft from the UAE in which the Industry Minister and 40 delegates from that country have arrived, special flights in which Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Nirmala Seetharaman arrived from Delhi and a special flight came from Sri Lanka, Airport Director Vinod Sharma told The Hindu on Friday.
The arrival of chartered flights, which began on Thursday evening, continued through the night till morning. A total of 350 foreign delegates arrived for the two-day summit. Of the total 15 non-scheduled flights which landed in Visakhapatnam, about half a dozen flew back after disembarking the delegates, while the remaining aircraft were accommodated in the parking bays near the New Terminal Building and at the old apron at the old Terminal Building.
“The existing apron has six (3 open bays and 3 aero bridges) parking stands to accommodate six aircraft at a time. The old apron has two parking stands, which are being used to park the chartered aircraft,” Mr Vinod Sharma said.
Construction of six more parking bays is in progress and is expected to be completed by June. The area of the terminal building is being increased by an additional 9,850 square metres and additional escalators and lifts would be provided to meet the needs of growing number of passengers and the international events being hosted by the city.
