The Visakhapatnam airport will go international on March 25 when the eastern port city will be directly connected to Dubai through the air. 
The first AI flight from Dubai, with a stopover at Hyderabad, will land at Visakhapatnam around 8 am and take off around 6.20 pm for Dubai, again via Hyderabad, taking with it the first batch of the direct travelers.

The international service will be inaugurated by the Union Civil Aviation Minister Mr Ajith Singh and the chief minister Mr Kirankumar Reddy. The function will be graced by Mr G. Srinivasa Rao, Minister for Investments and Infrastructure.

The Minister said a big carnival is being arranged on the beach road on the inauguration of the international flight. “We are conducting several other programmes to mark the first flight,” he told newspersons.

According to Mr Sarat, who represents the Sharjah-based All Andhra Association of United Arab Emirates, there are nearly 2.5 lakh Telugus living in Dubai and nearly 30 per cent of them are from Visakhapatnam. “The direct flight services would go a long way in enhancing and spreading connectivity between the Telugu people in Dubai and the people of Visakhapatnam,” he told a meeting at Visakhapatnam recently. (J)