INDIA. Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has completed 100 days of operations since its opening on 23 March, and the facility continues to introduce new air routes and new consumer services.
The airport handled 1.9 million passengers in the first 100 days and had 24,769 aircraft movements, +10% higher than in the same period last year. It also welcomed new carriers Air India Express and Gulf Air to its list of user airlines while Jet Airways opened two new destinations to cater to the growing demand of passengers from Tirupati & Rajahmundry.
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Wide variety: The extensive retail and food & beverage offer already in place at Hyderabad International Airport has been complemented by new outlets from Pizza Hut and KFC, with McDonald’s soon to join them | |
GMR-Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), the joint venture that operates Rajiv Gandhi Airport, said in a statement: “The first 100 days has been a challenging and learning experience.” But despite the recent fuel price increases and rationalising of routes and frequencies by airlines, the airport operator expressed satisfaction with the results to date.
Apart from introducing new carriers and routes, consumer services are also being added. The food & beverage options at the airport have improved over the last 100 days, said GHIAL. “The passenger now has a variety of choices and at affordable rates. Pizza Hut and KFC have opened their outlets in addition to those already present and McDonald’s is planning to open their outlet very soon.”
Air India has commissioned new lounges at domestic and international departures. Jet Airways and Kingfisher are also shortly commissioning their lounges. Plaza Premium, which is operating the paid lounges at both international and domestic departure lobbies has also received an overwhelming response from the passengers, said GHIAL.
GHIAL Chief Commercial Officer Viswanath Attaluri said: “We are very happy with this important milestone and our continuous focus on Safety, Security and Passenger Experience is showing results. The operation stabilisation both in terms of aircraft turnaround time and baggage handling system has also significantly improved over the last 100 days.
“We would like to thank all our stakeholders – government (both State & Central) and regulatory agencies (Customs, Immigration, CISF, MET Department & Plant Quarantine & Health), airlines and our valued passengers and shall strive to offer better services going forward.”
Other value-added services launched during the 100 days include:
*A mobile edition of the website (http://mobile.hyderabad.aero) has been launched to give up-to-date flight information to the people
*Porter services at affordable prices
*Valet services for passengers
*Free buggy services within the terminal building and car parking area
Passengers can avail a variety of transport options to reach the airport or the city based on their requirements. These include the following:
*Aeroexpress – 35 AC shuttle coaches from five designated locations – Rs95 inclusive of taxes at 30 minute intervals
*Radio taxis – over 700 AC taxis run by two operators
*Executive car service – over 100 high-end cars between three operators
*APSRTC buses besides auto-rickshaws and other third party taxi operators from Public Transportation Centre (PTC)
*Free AC Volvo Coach for passengers to reach the terminal from PTC and vice versa
About GHIAL
GMR-HIAL is a joint venture company promoted by GMR Infrastructure Ltd. (63%); Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (11%), Airports Authority of India (13%) and Government of Andhra Pradesh (13%), with a mandate to develop a world-class international grade airport spread over 5,500 acres in Shamshabad, about 25km from the main city of Hyderabad.
This project – Rajiv Gandhi International Airport – is set to position Hyderabad as a prominent player in the global aviation map contributing to the prosperity, development and economic well-being of the region.
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