Vadodara airport seeks permission to operate round-the-clock; facilities for passengers to improve

Vadodara: The Vadodara airport authorities have sought permission from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for operating the facility round-the-clock. [caption id=“attachment_4478895” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP.[/caption] At present, the airport, located in the city’s Harni area, operates from 6 am to 9.45 pm. It operates around 22 commercial flights per day. In addition, private airline Jet Airways is also set to launch flights to Udaipur, Indore, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai from September, Vadodara airport director Charan Singh said on Monday. The city is also set to host dignitaries from several countries in October for the inauguration of the 182 metre tall ‘Statue of Unity’, dedicated to India’s first Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in the neighbouring Narmada district, about 90 km from Vadodara. In view of these developments, “We have written a letter to AAI seeking permission for operating the facility round-the-clock,” Singh told PTI. “Our priority is to improve the facilities for passengers and increase the cargo transport,” he said. In the last couple of years, the number of aircraft landing at the Vadodara airport has considerably increased and the passenger traffic has also gone up, Singh said. Vadodara will get more domestic connectivity from the new integrated terminal building from September, he added. Two aerobridges are also expected to be operational soon at the airport to ferry passengers directly from the gate to the aircraft. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in October 2016 inaugurated the new terminal building at the airport.