Surat flyer numbers soar despite fewer flights

Surat: Surtis have shown that even if flights are halved at Surat International Airport, passenger numbers can still reach new highs.The number of flyers at Surat International Airport reached an all-time high in 2025-26, with 18.14 lakh passengers flying from the city. Experts say the record is significant as the airport faced flight cancellations in Dec due to the IndiGo crisis and in March due to the Iran war. The previous record was set in 2024-25, when 17.24 lakh passengers flew through the airport.Sanjay Jain, a member of the We Work for Working Airport At Surat (WWWAS) advocacy group, said: "Surat has been consistently adding 2 to 3 lakh passengers a year. Looking at these projections, flights should be increased every year. But they have been going down over the past five years. Before Covid, there was an average of 52 flight movements (landings and take-offs) a day, which has fallen to 28 now. Yet, Surat has broken its past record. However, the govt and airlines are not doing enough to provide flights to Surat consistently."Aviation experts said many sectors such as Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer have been closed by airlines. Flights to Delhi, Goa, Jaipur and Kolkata have been reduced. At one point, Surat had eight flights to Delhi.Aviation enthusiast Rajesh Modi said Surat airport crossing 18 lakh passengers for the first time was not just a statistic but a signal of the city's strong economic growth and rising global connectivity demand. "In fact, this milestone has been achieved despite limited flight frequency, which shows the untapped potential of Surat's aviation market. If more domestic and international routes are introduced with better scheduling, Surat can easily emerge as one of the fastest-growing aviation hubs in India. Now is the time for authorities and airlines to match this demand with capacity and vision. Surat can easily outperform many Tier 2 airports in India." Recently, industrialists raised concerns about poor connectivity at Surat airport during an SGCCI meeting with Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya. SGCCI aviation committee chairman Linesh Shah flagged the need to include Surat in bilateral agreements so more international flights can operate from the city. Year Dom Intl Total2018-19 1235840 2884 12387242019-20 1471406 44151 15155572020-21 564260 000 5642602021-22 919866 13951 9338172022-23 1204695 35218 12399132023-24 1301191 79561 13807522024-25 1566426 158395 17248212025-26 1606882 207690 1814572Ends MSID:: 130497624 413 |
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