The petition filed three years ago in 2016 had sought more air connectivity and frequency of domestic as well as international flights from Surat to other cities.
A bench of the Gujarat High Court disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Surat Airport Action Committee after it was brought to the court's notice that most of the issues raised in the petition had been addressed by the concerned authorities.
The bench disposed of the petition after the petitioner agreed to withdraw the application on the grounds that considerable progress had been made in developing Surat airport and the infrastructure around it would be maintained in the future too. The court too was satisfied by the pace and progress of work in connection with the petition.
The petition filed three years ago in 2016 had sought more air connectivity and frequency of domestic as well as international flights from Surat to other cities.
Following the PIL, the Airport Authority of India had recently released data showing the progress made by the airport. The data showed a 212% increase in aircraft movement and a 536% surge in passenger load numbers.
It also showed that the aircraft movement at the airport had increased from 13 per day in the year 2016-17 to 40 per day in the year 2018-19. The passenger load had increased from 533 per day to 3394 per day for the same period.
The PIL had sought an increase in the number of flight connections to and from Surat given the economic importance of the city and had also sought improved facilities at the airport. It had also stated that due to the lack of direct air connectivity from Surat, it was having an adverse impact on the economy of the city. The petition also mentioned that lack of regular flights meant citizens were forced to catch their flights from Mumbai and Ahmedabad. It also pointed out how the citizens had to pay almost double the fare.
What Plea says
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Lack of regular flights meant citizens forced to catch their flights from Mumbai and Ahmedabad
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| Due to lack of direct air connectivity from Surat, it had an adverse impact on the economy |
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