From today, 'Air India' will operate a direct flight from Vijayawada to New Delhi! So, what is so significant about that? It’s just another air route, right? Wrong!
This is a highly significant move following the bifurcation of the State.
The majority of the administrative structure of AP is still housed in Hyderabad and even our politicians and higher officials still make use of the Hyderabad airport for flying to Delhi.
Lack of a direct air service to Delhi necessitates the usage of Hyderabad. With the various Ministries of AP having started the process of shifting their services to Vijayawada and the development boom expected in the new state of AP, it is mandatory to have a direct service to the capital of the nation.
Also, scores of AP people have no option but to land at Hyderabad from which they travel to their native cities.
A direct connecting service from Delhi will also assist these people to get down at Vijayawada directly in future with the introduction of more ‘flights’ on this route.
The benefits in terms of taxes will also accrue to the local airports. With AP now focused solely on its own development instead of developing Telangana, it is high time that such measures are initiated that would help it to sever its unwanted umbilical cord with Telangana.
