Tirupati airport to get ceremonial lounge for VIPs

Tirupati: The airport at the pilgrim city would soon have a new ceremonial lounge for VIPs visiting the abode of Lord Venkateswara. The Union Cabinet has approved the allotment of 1,800 sq meters of land for the purpose. The land belonged to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), will now be allotted to Andhra Pradesh Education and Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation (APEWIDC) for a period of 15 years at nominal rate of Rs 1 per annum.

APEWIDC will construct the ceremonial lounge and entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining it. This will provide better amenities to the visiting VIPs and VVIPs to the airport. It may be recalled that in 2015 the new integrated terminal of Tirupati airport having Garuda shape was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The terminal building is having a capacity of handling 200 international as well as 500 domestic passengers at a time.

Though, it has international terminal and status and was equipped with immigration counters, check in counters and customs counters, the airport was yet to witness international flight operations. Recently, the State government allotted 16.56 acres to the airport as part of the land required for expansion works for which the Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone on February 20 this year.