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Emirates flights to open up Dubai-AP trade ties

Our Bureau

HYDERABAD, July 1

FOLLOWING the launch of daily flights from Dubai to Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, and the Dubai delegation expect business ties to open up between the two States.

The Chief Minister, who received the first flight to Hyderabad here on Sunday, expressed that this development will pave the way for the Emirates to use Hyderabad as a hub for its flights in the region.

The Commercial Director of Emirates, Mr Ghaith Al Ghaith, said the introduction of this new flight provides a direct link between India's IT capital and Dubai, the leading commercial centre in West Asia.

Emirates believes that this route will be a major success as it will meet the travel and freight transportation requirements of business travellers in both business centres. Dubai is planning road shows in Hyderabad later this year to explore business op portunities.

Mr Ghaith said, ``Gradually, we will bring in a lot of tourist operators. This part of the world has a lot of historical significance and it will take some time to convince and attract these operators. With onward connectivity to the Middle East (West As ia), more traffic will be generated.''

Emirates will now operate eight non-stop direct weekly flights between Dubai and Hyderabad. This, coupled with the recent launch of Indian Airlines direct flight to Dubai, will make travel to West Asia a comfortable one without the hassles of waiting for a few hours for connectivity from Mumbai.

Hyderabad is Emirates' fourth destination in India and 58th on its global network. From India, Emirates currently operates 18 flights weekly between Mumbai-Dubai, seven flights weekly between Delhi and Dubai and four flights between Chennai and Dubai.

Emirates inaugurated its full-fledged office here coinciding with the launch of its maiden flight from Dubai.

Mr Naidu said that with several international airline carriers such as Swiss Air, Australian Air and British Airways keen to launch their flights, the existing Hyderabad airport and its infrastructure will be upgraded.

Simultaneously, the work on the Hyderabad international airport will commence shortly following the selection of the developer. Hyderabad, which is conveniently located, has the potential to serve as logistics hub, Mr Naidu said.

The Director-General of Department of Economic Development, Dubai, Mr Mohammad Al Abbar, while thanking the Union Government, civil aviation authorities, and the State Government for their support in launching the service to Hyderabad, said that the Duba i Government's and the Andhra Pradesh Government's efforts to promote trade and tourist ties will open up new business opportunities.

Picture: The crew members of the Emirates' inaugural flight being received at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Picture by Roy Chowdhury