Hospitality industry urges aviation minister to avoid flight disruptions at Port Blair airport

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India's (FHRAI) stated that the closure of the runway poses a serious threat to the hospitality and tourism industry in the Union Territory which has already suffered 75- 80 per cent revenue loss due to the pandemic.

Hospitality industry body FHRAI on Tuesday said it has submitted a representation to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia seeking his intervention to avoid disruptions in flight movements at the Port Blair Airport.

The Andaman & Nicobar Command has directed shutting down the only runway of Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair for four days a week from March to May 2022 for its re-carpeting work and a NOTAM has been issued in this regard.

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India’s (FHRAI) stated that the closure of the runway poses a serious threat to the hospitality and tourism industry in the Union Territory which has already suffered 75- 80 per cent revenue loss due to the pandemic.

FHRAI has appealed to the Aviation Ministry to explore alternatives to carry out the work at the airport without shutting down operations.

“Tourism is the backbone of Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ economy. Veer Savarkar International Airport is the only fastest connectivity option available for the islands with the country’s mainland. Closing it for four days a week from March to May 2022 will disrupt life and business on the Islands,” FHRAI argued.

It further said that typically, tourists prefer to visit the Islands for only about 4 to 5 days and the disruption in flight movement will discourage them from visiting the islands which will ultimately result in losing out on revenue opportunities for the already deflated hospitality industry.

Before March 2020, the annual revenue of the hospitality industry in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was in the Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 crore range. Since then the Islands barely opened for about six months for tourists, the Federation stated.

“The hospitality industry has already suffered 75- 80 per cent revenue loss in these two years due to the pandemic. We request the Minister of Civil Aviation to favourably consider our request to undertake runway re-carpeting work without disrupting the existing operations,” FHRAI Vice-President Gurbaxish Singh said.