‘Pending dues forced Alliance Air to shift base from Vizag’

Previous TDP govt. has failed to clear ₹22 cr., says APATA

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, is planning to shift its base for ATR 72 aircraft in Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad from July 16.

The proposed shifting of the base of Alliance Air for its ATR 72 aircraft in Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad appears to be certain.

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, is planning to shift the base from July 16 and utilise the aircraft on the Hyderabad-Mysuru, Mysuru-Goa, Mysuru-Kochi and Mysuru-Bengaluru routes.

Though the Alliance Air is citing aircraft shortage and profitability as the reasons, there seems to be other compelling reason for the decision if Andhra Pradesh Air Travellers’ Association (APATA) is to be believed.

“The previous TDP government’s failure to pay dues to the tune of ₹22 crore to the airline under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in the last two years has made the airline take this decision,” claims APATA Vice-President O. Naresh Kumar, quoting sources in Air India.

Mr. Naresh Kumar said that the APATA was in talks with other airlines to operate flights on the Vizag-Vijayawada-Tirupati route and the latter had expressed their willingness on the condition that they got the necessary clearances from the government.

MP meets Union Minister

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam MP M.V.V. Satyanarayana met Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi on Friday and sought his intervention to ensure that the ATR base continued in Visakhapatnam, in view of the growing demand from passengers.

“The Union Minister spoke to officials of the airline and advised them to take a suitable decision on the issue soon,” a statement quoted Mr. Satyanarayana as saying.