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Surat Airport Struggles to Meet 24/7 Operational Demand, Here’s Why

Surat Airport Struggles to Meet 24/7 Operational Demand, Here’s Why

Even though the Airports Authority of India (AAI) decided to make Surat airport operational 24 hours a day more than a year and a half ago, night flights at the airport remain suspended.

According to TOI, the airport is currently closed from 11pm to 7.30am on certain days of the week.

Seven months ago, Surat airport was declared an international airport, prompting locals to expect more night and morning air. to fleeHowever, these flights are only possible if the airport is open 24 hours a day.

Currently Surat Airport handles 35 flights per day, with the first arrival at 08:00 and the first departure at 08:30. There are a few international flights to Dubai and Sharjah.

In May 2024, Surat airport authorities issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) stating that flight operations would commence at 7:30 AM and end at 11 PM on most days of the week until October 2, 2024. According to the NOTAM, operations will cease at 10:05 PM on Mondays and Saturdays. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the airport will close at 12:40 AM after commencing operations at 7:30 AM.

On Thursdays and Saturdays, the service is suspended for three hours after 22:05. To accommodate international flights, the service is reopened at 02:30.

Due to the current schedule, early morning flights are not possible for departure or landing. Also late evening flights cannot be operated after 22:05.

A frequent flyer said, “I often travel to other cities for business but it is difficult to reach there on time as I can only catch a flight from Surat after 7:30 am.” He added that many airlines would be happy to operate early morning and late evening flights if the airport were open 24×7.

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Sources at Surat airport said, “We do not have enough staff for ATC, CISF, meteorology, operations and technical teams to run the airport round the clock. AAI should provide more staff for round the clock operations.”

Despite adding more parking spaces for early departures and late arrivals, the situation has not improved. Attempts to contact the in-charge director SC Bhalse were unsuccessful. Bhalse has been overseeing the airport since Rupesh Kumar was transferred to Hubli six months ago.

Sources at Surat airport said, “We do not have enough staff for ATC, CISF, meteorology, operations and technical teams to run the airport round the clock. AAI should provide more staff for round the clock operations.”

Despite adding more parking spaces for early departures and late arrivals, the situation has not improved. Attempts to contact the in-charge director SC Bhalse were unsuccessful. Bhalse has been overseeing the airport since Rupesh Kumar was transferred to Hubli six months ago.

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  • Samreen Pall

    Samreen Pall, Senior Sub-Editor at News18, is a Computer Science graduate but a

    first print: Jul 22, 2024, 2:37 PM IST