Indigo announced that it will start operating flight services from the Orvakal Airport in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district on March 28. The airlines will operate flights between Kurnool airport and three cities — Bengaluru, Chennai and Visakhapatnam. Authorities said that all three routes — Bengaluru-Kurnool, Visakhapatnam-Kurnool and Chennai-Kurnool — will see operations four times a week.
The low-cost carrier has been selected to fly under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) regional connectivity scheme of the Indian government. The UDAN scheme aids financial incentives to selected airlines to push operations from unserved and underserved airports to provide affordable airfare.
IndiGo authorities said that the fresh project would enhance the aerial connectivity between southern states. IndiGo Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjay Kumar said the project will strategically enhance regional connectivity in southern states. He also stated that with the flight operations at one of the three capitals of Andhra Pradesh, Kurnool could also be a node for the upcoming Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
Following a site inspection, the Director of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted the licence to the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Ltd (APDCL), which built the green-field airport, last week. With the license, it has cleared the way for starting commercial operations.
Kurnool, in the Rayalaseema region, is proposed to be the judicial capital of Andhra Pradesh. With the airport, Kurnool is expected to see floating travellers from other regions as well as tourists and pilgrims from different places.
The construction of the airport began in early 2019 at a cost of Rs 110 crore, with around 2,000-metre-long runway. Indigo, known for its low-cost services, was providing services to connect 61 domestic cities and recently decided to launch operations from seven new stations. The new cities include Kurnool along with Leh, Darbhanga, Agra, Kurnool, Bareilly, Durgapur and Rajkot.