Big news ahead as SVPI airport to launch Direct flights to USA

• Need of the Hour

Following the announcement of direct flights from Ahmedabad to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru by Air India, demand for direct last minute flights from Ahmedabad to the United States has increased.

According to aviation department sources, “despite the allocation of slots for direct flights from Ahmedabad to the United States ten years ago, the flight has not yet begun.”

“As an outcome, lakhs of travelers visiting Gujarat by cheap international flight tickets reach Ahmedabad via Delhi or Mumbai after hours of delay,” he continued. It results, the elderly and students suffer greatly.”

As a result, the Federation of Gujarati Associations (FOGA) has made representations at various levels to begin direct flights between Ahmedabad and the United States.

Gujaratis constitute 17-18% of the approximately 50 lakh Indians living in the United States. And they mostly visit Gujarat during the NRI season, which runs from November to January & most of them prefer last minute flights.

The city airport already has convenient connections with cheap international flight tickets service to the United States via Mumbai, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. According to sources, discussions are underway to introduce direct flights from Ahmedabad to the United States, which will be a huge relief to the Indian diaspora in the United States as well as business travelers who visit the country frequently.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport currently links Ahmedabad to at least 13 international and 30 domestic destinations, served by 15 international and eight domestic airlines offering last-minute flight services. You can also avail them from Canada to India on Flyopedia.ca

Regardless of the NRI season or religious holidays such as the Pramukh Swami birth centennial, millions of Gujarati families from New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, and Chicago visit Ahmedabad on a regular basis.

Instead of Delhi and Mumbai, demand for direct flights from Ahmedabad to numerous destinations in the United States has increased.

As further proof, Manish Sharma, head of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Gujarat Chapter, stated, “Approximately 62-70% of the passengers on Air India flights from Mumbai and Delhi to the United States are Gujaratis.”

In 2007, Air India received a direct flight slot from Ahmedabad to the United States but terminated the initiated direct flight in 2012. At that time, the US administration explained the situation, arguing that Ahmedabad airport’s baggage screening system was “outdated.”

However, airport sources claim that the baggage screening system has reached international standards in the year and a half since a private company took over the management of Ahmedabad Airport.