Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu, along with Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry, on Thursday launched IndiGo’s new flight services connecting Vijayawada with Varanasi and Kolkata. The new services were inaugurated at a ceremony held at Vijayawada International Airport, attended virtually by the Union minister and other officials.
Under the new schedule, flight 6E6501 departs from Kolkata at 2:10 PM, arrives in Varanasi at 3:55 PM, and reaches Vijayawada at 5:50 PM. On the return leg, flight 6E6502 departs Vijayawada at 6:20 PM, arrives in Varanasi at 8:15 PM, and continues to Kolkata, arriving at 10:15 PM. Officials from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that these services will operate three days a week—Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
According to the airport authority, the inaugural operations witnessed a strong passenger response, with 89 passengers arriving in Vijayawada from Varanasi and 129 passengers departing Vijayawada for Varanasi on the first day of operations. Balashowry noted that the new connectivity would benefit residents of Andhra Pradesh travelling for spiritual, commercial, educational, medical and tourism purposes, particularly to Varanasi and Kolkata.
During the event, Balashowry also urged the minister to consider launching direct international flight services from Vijayawada to Dubai, along with a new route connecting Vijayawada and Kochi. He said that direct Dubai connectivity would significantly ease international travel for people in Andhra Pradesh and improve access to broader global regions such as Africa, the Americas and Europe via the Dubai hub. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath and Gannavaram MLA Yarlagadda Venkata Rao attended the event in person and presented the first boarding passes to passengers on the inaugural flight.
Minister Naidu congratulated IndiGo on the launch and said the Ministry of Civil Aviation was actively working to expand Vijayawada’s air connectivity further, with flights to Pune, Ahmedabad and Cochin expected to be added soon. He also announced plans to introduce Hub-and-Spoke operations at Vijayawada, under which the airport would function as a spoke connecting to major international hub airports, allowing passengers to complete customs and immigration formalities locally before transferring to connecting flights. Naidu added that efforts were underway to complete Vijayawada’s new integrated terminal building, designed to reflect local art and culture, and revealed plans for future seaplane operations at Prakasam Barrage, Srisailam, Hussain Sagar and Nagarjuna Sagar.
Sivanath, meanwhile, said the new Varanasi service fulfilled a long-standing demand from local residents and reiterated calls for a Kochi connection, citing strong demand from Sabarimala pilgrims travelling from the region.
