Cathay Pacific launches direct flights to Hyderabad

Airline schedules four flights every week to Hyderabad.

The first slight direct flight between Hong Kong and the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad took place Dec. 3. The route will be served by Airbus A-330-300 aircraft.

With the Hyderabad service, Cathay Pacific now has 46 flights each from India to Hong Kong. The airline company recently increased the frequency of its Chennai-Hong Kong-Chennai flights to daily service from the four-days-in-a-week service.

Cathay Pacific believes its flights to Hyderabad will play a very important role in promoting tourism since Hyderabad has always been a favourite holiday destination.

Vikram Jaisinghani, chief executive officer of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), believes the direct flights will open a direct window for the people of Hyderabad to choose Hong Kong as an exciting holiday destination.

GHIAL intends to transform RGIA into a gateway of south and central India. Opened in 2008, RGIA is designed to handle over 40 million passengers and 1 million tonnes of cargo. It was judged the world's best airport in the 5 to 15 million passenger category and the world's fifth best airport for airport service quality in 2011.

Hyderabad is is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It has a population of 7.8 million, including its metropolitan area, making it India's fourth most populous city.