Union Minister of Civil Aviation & Steel, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated a direct flight between Ahmedabad and Gatwick today.

The non-stop flight between Ahmedabad and Gatwick will be operated by Air India commencing from today, as per the following schedule.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said that this new air connectivity will bring in new opportunities for trade and commerce and help Indian students studying in the UK.

Speaking on the connectivity in Ahmedabad, the minister stated that the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad currently has the capacity to handle 50 lakh domestic and 25 lakh international passengers. The government aims to increase the passenger capacity of Ahmedabad to 1.60 crore.

In 2013-14, Ahmedabad was connected to only 20 destinations and under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, in the last 9 years the connectivity has increased to 57 destinations, he added. In last 9 years, the weekly air traffic movement from Ahmedabad has increased from 980 per week to 2036 per week, increase by 128%.