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Kurnool Airport , also known as Orvakal Airport and officially known as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, is a domestic airport serving the city of Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at Orvakal, situated on National Highway 40, about from Kurnool and from Nandyal. The airport covers an area of , and has been built at a cost of as a low-cost airport to improve connectivity to remote areas. It began commercial operations on 28 March 2021. It has been named after Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, who was a prominent independence activist in the 19th century.
In July 2009, the government scrapped the plans as no companies posted bids for the construction of the airport. The companies sought the construction to be infeasible due to low expectations of revenues. In October 2009, the government planned to invite fresh bids for 4 airports including Kurnool Airport, to be constructed in . The government offered additional incentives including exemption from value-added taxes and waiver of lease rentals for the first seven years, once the airport is operational.
Later in 2013, the Government of India identified Kurnool as one of the 50 locations for the development of low-cost airports, in order to improve connectivity to remote areas.
The Cornerstone was laid in June 2017 by the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu. After trial runs were successfully conducted at the end of 2018, he inaugurated the airport on 8 January 2019. At this time, the runway and terminal buildings were constructed, however, works related to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower was not completed. Two years later, on 15 January 2021, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (India) (DGCA) granted the license to the airport for public use. Later, on 27 January, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) granted security clearance.
On 25 March 2021, the airport was re-inaugurated by the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. He also named the airport as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, commemorating the prominent freedom fighter, Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, who originated from Kurnool district during the 19th century. The government also started discussion for a pilot training institute and an aircraft repair centre. On 28 March 2021, commercial operations began with a ceremonial IndiGo flight from Bangalore.
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