Kurnool airport named after freedom fighter Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy on 25 March inaugurated Kurnool airport located at Orvakal and named it after Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy, one of the first freedom fighters to protest against the British Raj.

The Chief Minister said the flight operations from the airport will commence from 28 March to Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, and Chennai. He said the airport is equipped with all the latest technology and infrastructure which can facilitate parking for four aircraft at the same time.

Stating that this will be the sixth civilian airport in the state after Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Rajamundry, and Kadapa, Jagan said the airport was set up in the judicial capital of Andhra Pradesh, connecting to other states. He said the airport will make the judicial capital stand on par with other states.

Jagan slammed the previous government for inaugurating an incomplete airport in a rush before the 2019 elections without even securing ATC and DGCA permissions or initiating flight services. He said TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu tried to use this as a political stunt to get votes from the people of Kurnool.

He said the state government had developed the airport on a war footing within a year-and-a-half by spending Rs. 110 crore to complete all pending works, building lounges, getting ATC and DGCA permissions, and even establishing power substations and two high-end fire engines at the airport.

The Chief Minister thanked the people for their support to the government leading to a landslide victory in the recent gram panchayat and municipal polls.

Jagan also unveiled the statue of former Chief Minister Y.S Rajasekhar Reddy in front of the Airport Passenger Terminal building and inspected the buildings inside the airport. Later, he released a special postage stamp on the occasion of the inauguration of Kurnool airport.