Ventura Airconnect Planes Grounded at Surat airport as Gujarat VGF Lapses

Surat | Gujarat — The Cessna aircrafts of the Surat-based Ventura Airconnect, which is owned by top diamond barons and a realtor, have been grounded at the Surat airport as the Gujarat government is yet to extend the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for the sectors like Surat-Ahmedabad and  Rajkot-Amreli, which expired on December 31, 2025. 

Ventura Airconnect’s online tickets for January are not being booked. However, the airline company is learnt to have clarified that flight services have been suspended till January. On the other hand, passengers complain that online tickets for flights from Surat to Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Amreli are not being booked till January 31.

With the encouragement of the Civil Aviation Department of the Gujarat Government, the 9-seater aircrafts of Ventura Airconnect operated under the VGF scheme from Surat to Ahmedabad, Surat to Bhavnagar and Surat to Amreli for a long time now. However, the aircrafts have been grounded and are parked at the Surat airport. 

After the Gujarat government’s VGF scheme expired on December 31, 2025, the scheme was not renewed, and the planes of Ventura Airconnect Airlines, the owners of Surat’s diamond industry, were grounded. 

Sources said that the Gujarat government had launched the VGF scheme to enable interstate air routes and increase connectivity within the state by providing air connectivity between Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Under this scheme, the Gujarat government provides Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to airlines, said recently transferred former Surat Collectors Rajendra Kumar and Dhaval Patel, who were in charge of the state’s Civil Aviation Department. 

The department had not taken any decision to renew the contract with the intention of increasing competition in intrastate connectivity and providing this connectivity with 9 to 20 seater aircraft.

Officials were of the opinion that the tender should be issued to compete with SpiceJet and Star Air, which had purchased small aircraft. However, since Ventura Air Connect is a company with political influence of Surat’s diamond industrialists, there is a possibility that this contract will be renewed.

Under the Viability Gap Funding Scheme, the government pays a large subsidy on a per-flight or per-flight hour basis. Some passengers complained that Ventura is used to its maximum on certain days, including Mondays and Fridays, by politicians and diamond traders close to the promoters.

Sometimes, confirmed tickets of passengers are suddenly cancelled. Officials also wanted the number of 9-seater aircrafs were enough on the Surat airport and that new airlines should start service in 19 to 25 or 50-seater aircraft under this scheme. 

In this scheme, airlines bid for minimum subsidy through tender. The routes include Surat-Ahmedabad, Surat-Rajkot, Surat-Amreli, Ahmedabad-Keshod. 9-seater (Cessna Caravan/similar) with the flight duration 1 hour per sector

As per the VGF scheme, the operating cost per flight ₹60,000 – ₹70,000 and State VGF per flight ₹40,000 – ₹45,000 was paid to the airline company. This means that the airline company was paid about Rs. 4,500 to Rs.5,000 per passenger subsidy by the State Government to Ventura Airconnect.