Come April 1, city airport will offer 9 international services

With the Thai Airways annoucing to launch a direct flight between Ahmedabad and Bangkok from April 1, the number of international services at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport has gone up to nine.

As of now the airport has eight international airlines — Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia, Fly Dubai, Qatar Airways, Air India, Singapore and recently started Spicejet — mostly connecting Gulf countries including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah besides Air India which has two one-stop flights for The United States and the United Kingdom.

Thailand's Ambassador to India Pisan Manawapat had announced the launch of the service from April 1 during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Sources said initially it would be a weekly flight but the frequency may be doubled once its operational.

According to airport officials, low-cost airline Indigo is also keen on launching its international flight from Ahmedabad. Besides, Spicejet is also eying on starting another flight between Ahmedabad and Bangkok.

"Last year Spicejet had sought permission from the Director General of Civil Aviation to start flight services between Ahmedabad and Dubai as well as Ahmedabad-Bangkok. However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation approved only Dubai operation while the Bangkok operation is still in the pipeline," airport sources said.

These developments come as a respite for the city airport which has been looking for new operations specially international players.

The Ahmedabad airport, which is the third largest airport in the country under Airport Authority of India (AAI), has been eyeing international operators given the heavy investment in terms of creating infrastructure over the last couple of years.

600-odd passengers stranded as customs officer halts work briefly

AHMEDABAD: Nearly 600 passengers arriving from and heading to Singapore were stranded for more than half an hour on the runway and at the arrival lounge Thursday night allegedly because a customs officer ordered his staff to halt work after he was not issued a pass to enter the runway area. Sources said S J Singh, assistant commissioner of customs, wanted to check a Singapore Airlines flight after it arrived at 10.30 pm. The matter was sorted out after senior officials rushed to the international terminal and pacified Singh. Airport director R K Singh said the matter was resolved and the plane was allowed to take off after a delay of about half an hour.

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