Vijayawada: The Vijayawada airport may not have CISF security for some more time. If the revenue of an airport crosses Rs 18 crore per annum, then only CISF can engage its team. As of now, Vijayawada airport’s revenue hasn’t crossed even Rs 6 crore per annum. It is learnt that the CISF has reportedly kept the the civil aviation ministry has kept the prposal over the airport security in pending.
Major airlines are not prepared to run flights for the ensuing Pushkarams. Many seers and VIPs from across the country are expected to descend on the city for Krishna Pushkarams but the airline companies have not intimated about their preparedness to the Vijayawada airport authorities even when the latter tried to gather information about it from major domestic airlines like Spice Jet, Air India, Air Coasta and Jet Airways.
These airlines seem not be serious about the Pushkarams even when celebrity traffic might increase to the city during that time. The present operations of flights per day are 36, while it was 22 per day, in the last quarter, according to the authorities. Though the traffic has been gradually increasing, the airlines still are in a dilemma over increasing their services.
Perhaps, the airlines have not taken Pushkarams traffic seriously, Vijayawada Airport director G. Madhusudana Rao told this newspaper. These apart, the airport is facing another problem of erection of fencing, which is expected to be completed soon.
The state government has finally cleared the allotment of 698 acres to the airport recently and keeping in view, the possible security threats to vital installations, sea ports and airports across the country, the Vijayawada airport authorities are focusing on fencing the allotted land. It is a big taks and it should be completed on a war-footing, according to Professor G.V.S.R. Anjaneyulu.
Airport director G. Madhusudana said that the runway extension works will also be taken up, once the land gets in their possession. An amount of Rs 145 crore was allotted for extending the length of the runway from the existing 739 metres to 3,025 metres.
