Thai AirAsia proposes direct flight from Vizag to Bangkok

New Destinations

• Travel operators request Thai AirAsia to revise the Bangkok flight timing due to inconvenient arrival hour
• At present, Scoot Airlines operates a direct flight between Visakhapatnam and Singapore
• Discussions underway with airlines for flights to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, and Dubai

Visakhapatnam: With the resurfacing work at the runway of Visakhapatnam International Airport scheduled to be completed in March, more foreign flights are expected to be operated from the city from April 9, by Thai AirAsia.

At present, Scoot Airlines operates a direct flight between Visakhapatnam and Singapore. Before the lockdown, Air India was operating a flight between the city and Dubai enroute Hyderabad. Air Asia also had a direct flight to Kuala Lumpur. Malindo withdrew its flight to Kuala Lumpur via Colombo due to certain technical issues.

Low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia has come forward with a tentative schedule to operate three times a week flight from Visakhapatnam to Bangkok. However, the travel operators here have asked Thai AirAsia to change the departure time of flight from Visakhapatnam as it is scheduled to reach Bangkok around 1 am.

"We have urged Thai AirAsia to revise the timing so as to make it convenient for passengers preferring to have a vacation in Thailand," Tours and Travel Association of Andhra (TTAA) president K Vijay Mohan told Bizz Buzz. Budget tourists reaching at odd times need to check into a hotel in Bangkok before heading towards popular beach destinations like Phuket and Pattaya forcing them to spend more.

The surfacing work at Visakhapatnam airport was last undertaken 10 years ago. Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar told the media recently that the work undertaken at brisk pace with the support of Airport Authority of India, local authorities and the stakeholders will ensure better flight safety. While urging the Navy to complete the work at the earliest, Rajya Sabha MPs MVV Satyanarayana and GVL Narasimha Rao had earlier urged the authorities to reduce the time of night flights shutdown so as to not to affect the operation of commercial flights.

The airport here, a civil enclave, is located on INS Dega air station of the Indian Navy. Even though an international airport construction awarded by the State Government to GMR Group at Bhogapuram is expected to be operational in 2025 with the first phase work envisaged with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has proposed a new terminal with an investment of Rs 240 crore. Another building costing Rs 60 was recently made operational. The proposed terminal will ensure additional parking bays as part of an apron.

There is buzz in aviation circles that the completion of the resurfacing work and the launch of a new-look airport will ensure operation of more flights to international destinations. Talks are in progress with VietJet Air, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Air, IndiGo and AirAsia to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

After the end of the lockdown, the city witnessed a passenger footfall of 8.87 lakh in 2021-22, which went up to 24.98 lakh passengers including 63,134 international fliers in 2022-23.