To provide better connectivity to nearly 20 centres in the catchment areas of Hyderabad airport and to improve passenger traffic at the airport, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has launched a new service called ‘Fly via Hyderabad'.
Speaking to Business Line in Mangalore, Mr Vikram R. Jaisinghani, Chief Executive Officer of GHIAL, said that this product would provide better domestic and international connectivity to around 20 tier-II and tier-III cities in south and central India.
The flying time from Hyderabad to most of these tier-II and tier-III cities is one-and-half hours. The ‘Fly via Hyderabad' product is less time consuming compared to transfer via other airports, he said.
Explaining this, Mr Jaisinghani said that if a person wants to travel to Kolkata from Mangalore he will have to spend 8.35 hours if he travels via Mumbai airport, and 7.45 hours if he goes via Bangalore airport.
The travel duration will be 6.45 hours, if that person travels via Hyderabad.
To Delhi
A person from Mangalore can reach Delhi in 7.20 hours, if he opts for the ‘Fly via Hyderabad' package. He will have to spend 8.20 hours, if he wants to travel via Mumbai airport.
The travel duration will be 9.35 hours, if he travels via Bangalore airport, he said.
Apart from saving time in comparison to transfers via other airports, the central location of the airport will provide easier connection with eastern and southern parts of the country.
Some of the cities in the catchment areas of Hyderabad airport include Mangalore, Aurangabad, Tirupati, Nagpur, Goa, Indore and Bhubaneswar.
The total population of all these cities in the catchment areas is around 72 million.
Passenger Handling capacity
The airport, which has a capacity to handle 12 million passengers a year, is hopeful of handling around eight million during the current fiscal.
The plan is to handle around two million passengers through ‘Fly via Hyderabad' in the next two years, he said.
Mr Jaisinghani expressed confidence that the non-metro tier-II and tier-III cities are expected to contribute a major share to the passenger handling in the years to come.