Flight Info

IndiGo to operate bi-weekly Vijayawada-Singapore service

Tharun Boda

VIJAYAWADA, AUGUST 16, 2018 00:00 IST

Tentative plan is to launch the service in early October

IndiGo, which recently made the Vijayawada airport as a hub for its aircraft, has come forward to operate bi-weekly service to Singapore responding to a tender call by the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Ltd (APADCL).

This takes the State’s ambitious plan of starting an international flight service from the airport in the capital Amaravati a step closer to fruition.

“The tendering process has been completed and the airlines came forward to fly on the new sector. The State government has in principle approved the deal and assured it the Viability Gap Funding (VGF). We are awaiting the formal approval and modalities from the government before signing the final agreement. Tentatively the service will be launched on October 2,” APADCL chief executive officer Virender Singh told The Hindu .

“Though the airline was not keen initially it came in after the tender call that assured the VGF,” Mr. Singh said.

According to its aviation policy, the State provides VGF if the airline fails to get at least 50% occupancy on the specified sector. “We are confident that every flight will have 60-70% occupancy and no funding may be required. But the VGF would take care of the losses, if any.” Once the agreement is signed, the timings of the scheduled flights would be decided.

With the city airport not being included in the bilateral air service agreements by the Centre yet, the outset of international services got allegedly stalled and the Corporation has planned to run unscheduled chartered flights by hiring an airline that could run the business on its behalf.

The inordinate delay has dashed the hopes of the State which is expecting to have direct flights to destinations in West Asia.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had in June announced that the Vijayawada-Singapore service would be launched soon. Earlier it was also announced that Singapore’s SilkAir would be operating unscheduled flights as per the State’s requirement.

A domestic carrier could operate international services from Vijayawada without special permissions.