The Centre on Tuesday decided to requisition an aeronautical survey for building six airports in Telangana, which was left with just one airport after it was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The airports will be built by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), according to a document reviewed by ET.
The K Chandrashekhar Rao-led TRS government in Telangana has been pressing for more air connectivity for the state. Last year, it had identified sites for setting up three airports and sought upgradation of three airstrips which have not been operational for years.
Telangana’s only airport-—the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad—is used by Andhra Pradesh too, as the city has been serving as the capital for both states for the last 10 years. Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, has six other operational commercial airports—those at Vishakapatnam, Vijaywada, Tirupati, Kadapa, Oravakal and Rajahmundry. The first three are international airports.