AP Chambers hails Sharjah direct flight

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) hailed the commencement of Air India Express's Vijayawada-Sharjah direct flight. President-elect of Chambers Potluri Bhaskara Rao said in a statement here on Monday that the AP Chambers has been persuading AAI and various airlines operators to commence direct flights from Vijayawada to the UAE and Singapore as these two centres will enable passengers to get connected to almost all the countries. The UAE has 40 per cent Indian origin population of which a sizable chunk is from areas around Vijayawada. There is a huge population of NRIs residing in the UAE, the USA, Europe and Australia.

Since the direct flight has commenced, AP Chambers requested AAI to commence duty-free shops, separate lounges for international passengers and cargo screening facility at Vijayawada airport.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Vijayawada airport handled more than 100 international flights, which were operated to bring back Indians as part of Vande Bharat Mission. This demonstrated the capabilities of Vijayawada airport to handle large international flights.

Recently, the chambers requested Air India to launch a direct flight to Dubai. It also requested IndiGo to recommence Singapore flight, which was running in the past with more than 80 per cent occupancy. Since there is a huge NRI population, the chambers requested Air India and IndiGo to operate Hub & Spoke model connecting Vijayawada and other major airports in AP with international destinations like the USA, London, Sydney and allow check-in, immigration and customs at these airports.

The UAE is a major trading partner for India and Sharjah is one of the major cargo hubs in the UAE. There is a lot of demand for air cargo from AP as the food processing sector has emerged as one of the key sectors in the state.

A variety of products such as fruits, fruit juices and fruit pulp, marine products, and flowers are produced and exported to other states and countries from AP.

The state has a lot of potential for exporting perishable products to the UAE and exporters will be able to send the perishable cargo through the flight.