Direct Flights to Take off Between Surat and Dubai, Hong Kong
August 06, 23
(IDEX Online) - Direct flights between Surat and Dubai and Hong could begin as early as December.
The Indian government has been under increasing pressure to open up the skies as the city opens its vast new bourse.
Dinesh Navadia, a member of the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) committee, said a delegation had met civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
"He assured us that from December or in January, Surat will get two flights to Dubai and Hong Kong," he said.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) has been calling for daily flights to Surat to enhance existing trading ties.
SDB's vast new $388m building, across nine 15-story towers, claims to be the biggest office building in the world, with 7.1m square feet of floor space, compared with just over 6.6m at the Pentagon, HQ of the US Defense Department.
Despite its name, the vast majority of flights through Surat International Airport are domestic, mostly within Gujurat state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to officially open SDB in December.
Pic shows Surat International Airport.