Surat Airport Puts In Request To Operate Round-The-Clock!

Authorities at the Surat Airport have put in a request with the Airports Authority Of India(AAI) to make the airport operational for 24 hours a day.

At present, flights operate in 2 separate shifts which fall between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Surat Airport was recently declared customs notified by the central government and has been authorised to install immigration check posts. This makes the airport eligible to operate international flights. This is why authorities want AAI to let Surat Airport to be functional for the whole day.

Surat Airport’s Director, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Panigrahi has said that they have made this request to accommodate international flights at night. He expects AAI to approve this request in the next two months.

He also said that this decision will help Surat airport smoothen out domestic flight operations during daytime.

Authorities want Surat Airport to be operational for 24 hours for one more reason. Air India Express had submitted an ‘Expression Of Interest’ to operate direct flights from Surat to Sharjah. Once, AAI approves this request, Air India Express will launch the Sharjah-Surat flight service between 12.30 a.m. and 5 a.m.

5 Airports in India, including Vadodara Airport, had previously handed in a similar request to AAI. Surat Airport has become the 6th airport to do so.

According to a study conducted by Surat Travel & Tourism Association, air passenger traffic at the airport has been continuously increasing by 20-25 percent for the past few years. In fact, more than 5 lakh people travelled from Surat and south Gujrat to international destinations in 2017-2018.