Gujarat : Direct Pune-Surat Flights to Take Off, But Business Awaits Mumbai Connection

Surat : While the much-awaited direct air link between Surat, the diamond city of India, and Mumbai remains elusive, there’s some good news for frequent flyers. IndiGo Airlines is set to launch a tri-weekly direct flight service between Pune and Surat, starting March 31st, 2024.

This new route, announced as part of IndiGo’s summer schedule expansion, will offer convenient travel options for both business and leisure travelers. Flight 6E 6192 will depart Surat International Airport at 11:25 am on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, arriving at Pune Airport at 12:20 pm. The return flight, 6E 6191, will take off from Pune at 1:00 pm on the same days, landing in Surat by 2:00 pm.

IndiGo’s expansion also includes three additional domestic routes: Amritsar-Hyderabad, Srinagar-Bengaluru, and Chandigarh-Jammu. These new connections aim to strengthen domestic air travel connectivity and provide passengers with more options for exploring various destinations across India.

However, despite the positive development, the business community in Surat, particularly those in the diamond industry, express continued disappointment over the lack of direct flights to Mumbai.

“The diamond industry in Surat has strong ties with Mumbai,” said Raju Patel, a diamond company owner. “The absence of direct flights between the two cities forces diamond merchants and company owners to travel by train or road, causing inconvenience and unnecessary delays. We remain unclear why airlines are hesitant to operate flights on the Surat-Mumbai route.”

Sources said the Surat-Pune flight operation was started earlier, but it was discontinued to the less passenger load between the two cities.