Hyderabad: The city’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) is set to expand its global connectivity with 10 additional direct flights to overseas destinations being added to this kitty soon. Currently, it has direct connectivity to 22 international destinations.
According to RGIA officials, the first batch of direct flights from Hyderabad to Hong Kong, Hanoi, Addis Ababa, and Amsterdam will start in the next six months. Also, discussions with several Indian and international carriers are already at an advanced stage to launch new destinations, including Paris, Australia, Kathmandu, Krabi, Jakarta, and Denpasar over the next 12 to 18 months.
These expansion plans will particularly help thousands of students pursuing higher education in France and Australia. Currently, travellers to Australia endure up to 14 hours of travel time with layovers in Singapore or Bangkok. Direct flights will reduce this duration to seven to eight hours. Similarly, passengers travelling to Paris at present face stopovers in West Asia, Delhi, or Mumbai before reaching their destination.
“We are collaborating with other international airlines to explore new routes. With the establishment of bilateral agreements, there is significant interest in connecting Hyderabad to emerging destinations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,” said Pradeep Panicker, CEO-GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
Data shows that Hyderabad’s international passenger traffic touched 4.2 million in FY24. Moreover, the international seat capacity has grown to 60,889, compared to 46,832 weekly seats pre-pandemic.
In fact, international connectivity has picked up post-pandemic, and in the last two years, RGIA added Frankfurt (Germany), Phuket (Thailand), Madina (Saudi Arabia), Don Mueang (Thailand), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Male (Maldives), and Ras Al Khaimah (UAE). Additionally, airlines such as IndiGo, Air India Express, Nok Air, Salam Air, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Thai AirAsia, and Singapore Airlines have expanded their services to international routes from RGIA.
“With domestic carriers such as IndiGo, Akasa Air, and Air India Group receiving significant aircraft deliveries in FY2026, strong demand for new routes is anticipated from Hyderabad and its catchment regions, with operations likely to begin in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Ethiopia, Amsterdam, and some other Southeast Asian cities. In the forthcoming season, we are expecting significant growth in international traffic in FY2026,” Panicker added.