Purandeswari takes up matter with Def & Civil Aviation Minister

The news of disrupting night flight operations at the Vizag airport has trade up in arms over this.

There have been reports that night flight operations will be halted from November 15 to March 2024 throughout the night in order to complete runway resurfacing work.

If implemented, airline services of around 12 domestic flights and one international aircraft will be impacted at the Visakhapatnam International Airport.

Flights to Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and an international flight to Singapore shall be disrupted with this change.

Authorities at INS Dega had called a meeting to inform the airlines and it had been suggested to close the runway from 9 PM to 8 AM for 11 hours each day effective from November 15.

“The proposed timings are bound to negatively impact passenger flow into Vizag. I have thus given a representation to Defence Minister Mr Rajnath Singh and Minister of Civil Aviation Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia to consider the timing of between 10 pm – 6 am” said BJP’s Andhra Pradesh state president Ms Daggubati Purandeswari speaking to Vizag Industrial Scan.

The former MP further added that it was during her tenure as a MP from Visakhapatnam that they brought night landing systems at the Airport after a lot of negotiations with the government.

Similarly Vizag Airport director, Mr S Raja Reddy, said, “There are quite a number of landings that would be hit once night flights are discontinued. The airlines have been intimated the same and we hope to get the revised timings of the operations in the winter schedule.”

It is being said that suspending night flights could potentially lead to congestion and delays during peak daytime hours.

“November onwards is considered to be a festive season and a time when NRIs from the west start coming to India along with good demand for domestic tourism, hence a fruitful season for tour operators. With these in mind suspension of flights will adversely  impact the airport’s overall capacity” said Mr K Vijay Mohan, President of Tours and Travels.

Mr Mohan further opined that once airlines deploy aircrafts on other routes and if those routes do well, there is less chance for them to return to this sector. ‘This will pull away traffic from Vizag and will impact the tourism sector as well’ noted Mr Mohan.

Having taken up the matter with the respective ministries we are expecting  a positive

response. Ms Daggubati Purandeswari, BJP, Andhra Pradesh State President

November is a festive & busy season for tour operators. So disruption of any flights will negatively effect domestic tourism. Mr K Vijay Mohan, President, AP Tours & Travels Assn.

There are quite a number of landings that would be hit once night flights are discontinued. Mr S Raja Reddy, Vizag Airport Director