A year since its inauguration, Rajkot International Airport has not been able to attract airlines to run global operations from the airport. Concerns about passenger traffic and consistency have kept the airlines from running international flights from this fairly new airport. Now, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is thinking about offering incentives to the airlines to start international operations. Read on to know more about it.
Airlines Hesitant To Run International Operations At Rajkot Airport
The Rajkot International Airport at Hirasar was inaugurated last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The authorities predicted that the airport would be handling international flights by April 2024. However, according to The Indian Express report, no airline has submitted any proposal to launch international flights from Rajkot yet.
Reportedly, airlines are hesitant to start international operations at the fairly new Rajkot Airport due to concerns about passenger traffic and consistency. They feel that Rajkot, despite being the biggest city in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region, will not be able to keep up with the passenger traffic for the airlines in the longer run. Seeing this, AAI is thinking about offering international and domestic carriers some significant incentives to run operations from the Rajkot International Airport.
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AAI Consider Offering Significant Incentives
To attract airlines to start global operations at Rajkot International Airport, AAI might offer discounts to airlines on various charges levied by the airport. As per The Indian Express report, AAI will give discounts on landing charges and route navigation facility charges. The airport authority charges airlines in lieu of allowing the landing of aircraft at its airports. They believe these incentives will be enough to attract airlines to operate international flights, despite the low passenger load factor. These discounts and incentives will be available for both international and domestic airlines.
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Gujarat currently has international airports in Ahmedabad and Surat, Meanwhile, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Kandla, Keshod, Porbandar, Bhavnagar and Amreli have domestic airports. To decongest the load on the two international airports in the state, AAI has been insistent on beginning international operations at the Rajkot Airport. One will have to wait and see how AAI’s schemes will help bring airlines to this airport.
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia
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