Andhra Pradesh: APADCL Moots Aircraft Repair Centre at Orvakal Airport in Kurnool

The State Airports Development Corporation (APADCL) hopes to set up an Aircraft Repair and Maintenance (MRO) Center at Orvakal Airport in Kurnool. The proposals for setting up an MRO center will be implemented after the commencement of commercial activities from here. The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation will issue the necessary clearances to start commercial services from Kurnool Airport after the completion of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) scrutiny in the first week of December. In addition, APADCL hopes that the establishment of the MRO Centre will enable it to make full use of the infrastructure.

It is learnt that currently they had to rely on Bangalore and Shamshabad International Airports to operate flights. Due to the increase in the number of services at these two airports, the congestion is high. This makes clearance not available quickly. Maintenance charges are high. APADCL therefore hopes to set up a centre in the state. As it is a newly established airport the services will not be large. Officials said immediate clearance would be found and maintenance costs would be lower. It has sought tenders from companies to set up a pilot training center here.

The airlines, which operates services from Kurnool, will be selected by the centre by the end of the month. From here, TruJet and Indigo are interested in operating services to Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Bangalore as part of the UDAN-4 scheme. The centre will select one of the two companies by the end of the month. These routes will not be operated by other airlines for three years.

Apart from this, the authorities are in talks with various companies to run services to places like Delhi and Tirupati. State Government Aviation Advisor, APADCL MD Bharat Reddy said that all the work required to start commercial operations from here has been completed as per the prescribed standards. "The DGCA will inspect and issue permits in the first week of December," he said.