The Vijayawada international airport at Gannavaram organised a series of cultural, health and environmental programmes to mark ‘Yatri Suvidha Diwas’ and also the airport’s 12-year transformation from a local airfield into an international aviation gateway.

Addressing the media at the airport on Monday, Airport Director M. Lakshmi Kantha Reddy said the programmes were organised to seek feedback from passengers and work on improving passenger-centric facilities.

Detailing the programmes being undertaken, he said that the arriving passengers were given a traditional welcome, and 200 plant saplings were distributed to travellers to promote environmental sustainability. Live cultural programmes were performed by children across the arrival, departure, and terminal forecourt areas. Additionally, young travellers participated in drawing, painting, and quiz competitions.

The airport hosted 30 local school children for an educational, first-hand familiarisation tour of the airport ecosystem, he said. He added that a voluntary blood donation camp was organised in collaboration with the Indian Red Cross Society, while for departing travellers, basic health check-up camps were held.

In the evening, the entire terminal building was illuminated to mark the celebration.