Surat: After a long-wait, budget carrier AirAsia India announced its plan to commence flight operations from the Diamond City on Thursday.

Managing director and chief executive officer of AirAsia India Amar Abrol tweeted from his official handle: “Time to brush up my Gujarati. Let’s start with, kem cho Surat? Ame aviye chiye, connecting Surat to the world.”

The airline last week inducted its 16th aircraft and announced addition of Nagpur and Indore to its list of destinations. In February, Air Asia officials led by head of commercial Kiran Jain had visited the Diamond City to explore air traffic potential. The official met with various stakeholders, including those from the trade and industry, airport groups, politicians and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).

Though the airline is yet to announce dates for the launch, airport groups and SGCCI, who were continuously pursuing with AirAsia for the last five years to start operations, believe the airline may launch flight service from May 15.

In the first phase, the airline plans to connect the Diamond City with Bengaluru and later with other destinations like Indore, Nagpur and Delhi.

Sources said the airline has confirmed an office space at Surat airport to run the operations. Also, the tentative list of destinations and time slots have been submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for approval.

At present, Surat airport is served by SpiceJet, Air India, Ventura Airconnect and Air Odisha on destinations including Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Shirdi, Kolkata, Goa, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Amreli and Ahmedabad. AirAsia will be the fifth airline operator to connect the Diamond City.

Sources said apart from domestic destinations, AirAsia also plans to connect the Diamond City with international destinations including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka once Surat airport gets customs notified airport status.

‘Member Of We Work For A Working Airport At Surat’ (WWWAS) activist Sanjay Jain said, “Our efforts for the last five years have paid results. Now, Surtis will fly to Bengaluru and other international destinations soon.”

SGCCI’s aviation committee vice-chairman Manoj Singapuri said, “Efforts of SGCCI and other stakeholders have resulted in AirAsia starting operations from Surat.”

Member of Surat Airport Action Committee Sanjay Ezhawa said, “AirAsia has big plans for Surat. Not just for domestic services, they are very much positive about international connectivity. By the end of this year, Surat will really become Khoobsurat.”

