Declare Vadodara, Surat terminals as international airports: Gujarat govt

Vadodara: Gujarat government wants flight terminals at Vadodara and Surat to be declared as international airports. State finance and civil aviation minister Saurabhbhai Patel on Wednesday called on Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in Delhi and put forth the demand for declaring Vadodara and Surat flight terminals as international airports,and expansion and enhancement of capacity of domestic terminalat Ahmedabad, Patel said.[caption id="attachment_1674331" align="alignleft" width="380"] The minister also asked Centre to start direct flights from Vadodara to Dubai. Agencies[/caption]He also requested Raju to start direct flights from Vadodara to Dubai and Surat and from Ahmedabad to London and New Jersey. "I informed Raju that huge investment from national and international companies has flown in after Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. The influx of tourists has alsoincreased as the state government has been promoting touristdestinations in Gujarat," Patel said.He also demanded to introduce Delhi-Bhuj-Rajkot-Delhi, Delhi-Surat-Bhavnagar-Delhi, Surat-Kolkata and Surat-Bengaluru flight sectors, said Patel, the MLA from Akota assembly constituency in Vadodara city.He also urged the Union minister to facilitate setting up of a regional office of Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Ahmedabad for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat circuit.PTI