Kadapa airport in Andhra Pradesh was inaugurated on Sunday with the landing of the first flight from Bengaluru. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the airport in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu.

The airport, the fifth in the state, is expected to give boost to regional air connectivity. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has developed the airport at a cost of Rs.42 crore as part of its endeavour to promote regional and remote area connectivity in tier-II and III cities.

Air Pegasus became the first airlines to launch its services to and from Kadapa. Its flight from Bengaluru landed at the Kadapa airport at 11.30 a.m. Later, the flight took off back for Bengaluru. The Kadapa-Bengaluru service will operate thrice a week.

The state government made available 520 acres of land for the airport. According to officials, the new airport has been raised using a compact pre-fabricated terminal building with a capacity to handle 100 peak hour passengers at a time. The 1,719 metre-long and 45 metre-wide runway at the airport can at present handle an ATR-72 type of aircraft.

Venkaiah Naidu said the airport would be expanded and upgraded to handle operations of bigger aircraft. He said the central government will consider naming the airport after saint and poet Annamayya.Ch