KURNOOL: Kurnool-born pilot Satish Veera flew the inaugural flight to the city from Bengaluru on Sunday. He said he was thrilled to fly the first flight to his native city. The spanking new airport at his hometown was excellent for maneuvering and better than many airports, he said becoming the first pilot to land a commercial flight in the Oravakal airport.
Veera said that he was delighted with the distinction he had achieved.
A passenger in the flight, Hari Kumar, said it was a memorable day for him. A smallscale entrepreneur in Bengaluru, Hari Kumar said that the dream of Kurnool people was realised as flights had started operating from the city, thanks to the initiative of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy.
Another passenger, SMD Sarif, a native of Kurnool, said it takes 15 hours to travel from Kurnool to Visakhapatnam by bus. The availability of a flight comes as a major boon, he said.
A six-year-old girl passenger was accorded a rousing reception on her arrival from Bengaluru.
The maiden flight left for Visakhapatnam with 72 passengers on board. Kurnool collector G. Veera Pandian left for Chennai on another flight from Kurnool.
