Even after more than one and a half years since the Airports Authority of India (AAI) decided to make Surat airport operational round-the-clock, night operations at the airport are still suspended.
Currently, the airport remains closed from 11 PM to 7:30 AM on certain days of the week, according to TOI.
Seven months ago, Surat airport was declared an international airport, raising expectations among locals for more night and early morning flights. However, these flights are possible only if the airport operates 24 hours a day.
At present, Surat airport handles 35 flights a day, with the first arrival at 8 AM and the first departure at 8:30 AM. 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 will start at 7:30 AM and end at 11 PM on most days of the week until October 2, 2024. According to the NOTAM, operations stop at 10:05 PM on Mondays and Saturdays. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, the airport closes at 12:40 AM after starting at 7:30 AM.
On Thursdays and Saturdays, operations pause for three hours after 10:05 PM and reopen at 2:30 AM to accommodate an international flight.
Due to the current schedule, early morning flights are not possible for either take-off or landing. Similarly, late-night flights cannot operate after 10:05 PM.
A frequent flyer said, “I often travel to other cities for business, but it’s hard to reach on time as I can only take a flight from Surat after 7:30 AM.” He added that many airlines would be happy to operate early morning and late-night flights if the airport ran 24/7.
Sources at Surat airport mentioned, “We don’t have enough staff for ATC, CISF, meteorology, operations, and technical teams to run the airport 24 hours. AAI needs to provide more staff for 24-hour operations.”
Despite adding more parking bays to accommodate flights for early departures and late arrivals, the situation hasn’t improved. Attempts to contact in-charge director S C Bhalse were unsuccessful. Bhalse has been overseeing the airport since Rupesh Kumar was transferred to Hubli six months ago.
