Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday inaugurated the Kurnool Airport at Orvakal and dedicated it to the nation. This will be the sixth functional airport of Andhra Pradesh when the flight services to Bengaluru, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam begin on March 28.
At a public meeting after the inaugural function, Mr. Jagan announced that the airport would be named after a freedom fighter from the region, Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, whose death anniversary was on February 22.
Prior to inaugurating the airport, the Chief Minister hoisted a national flag on a tall flag pole in front of the airport building.
Mr. Jagan also unveiled the bust of his father and former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at the entrance of the terminal building.
He said his predecessor had hurriedly opened the airport without any DGCA permissions and several pending works, but, “Our government completed all the pending works at a cost of ₹110 crore and fast-tracked the project to make it functional in all aspects within one and a half years.”
Mr. Jagan thanked the people for giving the party a massive victory in both the panchayat and urban local body elections.
Judicial capital
“We are moving ahead with our aim of making Kurnool the Judicial Capital of the State and this airport will serve as a good asset,” Mr. Jagan said amid cheers from a large crowd. The Chief Minister inspected the passenger amenities at the airport and later interacted with the airport staff.
Initially, the airport will handle six incoming and outgoing IndiGo flights between 10.10 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. from and to Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, and Chennai. The airport has space to park four aircraft and it can handle ATR-72 and Bombardier Q-400 aircraft.
Panyam MLA K. Ram Bhupal Reddy said the long-time dream of the people was fulfilled, and requested the Chief Minister to sanction the development of Mallikarjuna Swamy Reservoir in the constituency.
District Collector G. Veerapandian, Superintendent of Police Fakkeerappa Kaginelli, Hindupur MP Gorantla Madhav, Minister Gummanur Jayaram, Kurnool MLA Hafeez, Municipal Commissioner D.K. Balaji welcomed the Chief Minister on the tarmac. Later, the Chief Minister left for Vijayawada by flight.