Hyderabad, December 10, 2008: UK’s largest scheduled airline, British Airways has commenced operations to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad with effect from December 7, 2008. The new route provides a direct flight from Hyderabad to London Heathrow Terminal 5 and offers convenient connections to 22 destinations in North America.
British Airways will operate five weekly non-stop flights between Hyderabad and London and is the only airline to offer direct flights between the two cities. British Airways offers three long-haul cabins on the Hyderabad route: Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy class) and World Traveller (economy class).
Amanda Amos, British Airways Area Commercial Manager for South Asia said: “We are very excited about the launch of our Hyderabad service. India is an incredibly important market for the airline and the start of this service demonstrates our commitment to this market.
We look forward to welcoming our passengers on this new service and aim to provide a world-class experience to both leisure and business travellers.”
The inaugural flight of British Airways to Hyderabad landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 4:40 am on December 7, 2008. The inaugural aircraft received a water cannon salute from the fire-fighting team ‘Panthers’ at the rapid exit way. It docked successfully at Bay No. 56 and took off later at 7:30 am.
The passengers and crew of the inaugural flight were accorded a warm welcome by GMR-HIAL officials. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Peter Noyce, Director, Mr. Prasanna C. and Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Viswanath Attaluri were present on the occasion.
“Despite the economic meltdown, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has registered a reasonable growth in the international passenger traffic. The excellent facilities available at RGIA have opened up exciting opportunities for world-class carriers like British Airways to add Hyderabad as a preferred destination,” Mr. Viswanath said.
He further added that, “Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) is poised to make Hyderabad a truly global air travel hub in India. The new airport, which commenced operations from March 23, 2008, has stabilised its operations and passengers are enjoying the new experience.
In terms of safety, security and passenger services, RGIA has been able to stabilise itself faster than similar Greenfield international airports across the globe. During the first eight months of its hassle-free commercial operations, RGIA has handled over 250 ATM per day, approx. 4.5 million passengers and over 35,000 metric tonnes of cargo”.
