Kurnool Airport, officially known as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, is a

greenfield airport A greenfield airport is an aviation facility with greenfield project characteristics. The designation reflects certain environmental qualities (using previously undeveloped or empty greenfield land, for example) and commissioning, planning and cons ...

at Orvakal, Kurnool district in the Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. It is situated on National Highway 40, about from Kurnool and from

Nandyal Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, Nandya ...

. The airport is built in at a cost of as a low-cost airport to improve connectivity to remote areas. The airport has begun commercial operations in March 2021.

History

Planning

In 2008, the government of Andhra Pradesh invited for expressions of interest to develop eight minor airports in the state, including an airport at Kurnool. Each airport was expected to cost . The airports were to be built in with a runway length of . The construction of this airport was chosen because Kurnool had a large paper mill producing 300 tonnes of paper every day. In July 2009, the government has scrapped the plans as no companies posted bids for the construction of the airport. The companies sought the construction to be infeasible due to low expectation of revenues. In October 2009, the government has planned to invite fresh bids for 4 airports including Kurnool airport, to be constructed in . The government has offered additional incentives including exemption from value added taxes and waiver of lease rentals for the first seven years once the airport is operational. Later in 2013, the central government has identified Kurnool as one of the 50 locations for the development of low-cost airports in order to improve connectivity to remote areas.

Construction

The airport was originally planned to be constructed over , of which are in Pudicherla, in Orvakal and in Kannamadakala. The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation had given the site clearance in February 2016. The state government approved the allocation of land in February 2017. The final construction was done in at a cost of . The foundation stone was laid in June 2017 by the then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu. After trial runs were successfully conducted at the end of 2018, he has later inaugurated the airport on 8 January 2019. At this time, the runway and terminal buildings were constructed, however, works related to

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

were not completed. Two years later, on 15 January 2021, the

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

authority DGCA has granted the aerodrome license to the airport for public use. Later on 27 January, the

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India). It is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India. It is headed by an officer of the rank of Director general of Police ...

(BCAS) has granted security clearance. On 25 March 2021, the airport is re-inaugurated by the current Chief Minister,

Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy (born 21 December 1972) also known as Y. S. Jagan or mononymously Jagan, is an Indian entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th and current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh since 30 May 2019. He is the ...

. He has also named the airport as ''Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport'', commemorating the

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy was an Indian freedom fighter leader. The son of a former Telugu Palegaadu Mallareddy and Seethamma, Narasimha Reddy was born in Rupanagudi village, on 24 November 1806. He belonged to the Motati Clan of Reddy's. He ...

who originated from Kurnool district. The government has also started discussion for a pilot training institute and an aircraft repair centre. On 28 March 2021, commercial operations has begun with a ceremonial IndiGo flight from Bangalore. The airport has a runway with four aprons for parking of aircraft. It has been categorized as '3C' and is capable of handling

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

aircraft like

ATR-72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, Flight length, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by Aerospace manufacturer, aircraft manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR (french: Avions de transport région ...

and Bombardier Q-400.

Airlines and destinations

Access

The airport is located directly on National Highway 40 connecting Kurnool and Nandyal. There are no railway lines connecting the airport.

References