SilkAir unveils direct flight between Singapore, Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam is SilkAir's eight Indian destination.

In a release, SilkAir launched its first direct flight between Singapore and Visakhapatnam, a port city on the southeast coast of India.

With the introduction of this thrice-weekly service, SilkAir is also the first airline to provide non-stop international air connectivity from Visakhapatnam, or more popularly known as Vizag.

The first flight, MI 448, took off at 1525 hours today from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 and is scheduled to arrive at Visakhapatnam Airport at 1710 hours. The return flight will depart from Visakhapatnam at 2255 hours tonight and arrive in Singapore at 0555 hours tomorrow (all times local).

Vizag is SilkAir’s eighth destination in India. Other Indian destinations in SilkAir’s network are Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

To mark this special occasion, customers on the first flight out of Singapore were presented with special souvenirs, comprising Poothareku, a local Andhra Pradesh sweet specially flown in from Vizag, and inaugural flight certificates signed personally by Chief Executive SilkAir, Mr Leslie Thng, and the flight commander. Likewise, a set of souvenirs will be presented to passengers on the first flight from Visakhapatnam.

“SilkAir is pleased to offer direct air services between Singapore and Visakhapatnam. In addition to being one of the important commercial cities inIndia, Vishakhapatnam is also fast emerging as a popular tourist attraction in India and we anticipate strong demand for this service from business and leisure travellers,” said Mr. Thng.

The new Vizag services are conveniently connected via Singapore with the rest of the more than 90 international cities in the joint Singapore Airlines-SilkAir network.

 For Vizag customers keen to visit Singapore, the Lion City promises a multitude of attractions, such as the Universal Studios Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay, the famous Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo, Kampong Glam, Chinatown and Little India.

SilkAir’s foray into the Indian market began in June 1999 when it commenced services to Thiruvananthapuram (also known asTrivandrum), the capital of the southwestern state of Kerala. Since then, the airline has steadily built up its Indian network over the years.