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Come the World Cup Cricket season and the Vibrant Global Gujarat Summit 2024, and the non-scheduled charter aircraft will start flying into the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad. Charter aircraft movement to the city airport is expected to double over match and event days, said SVPI airport sources as well as charter operators.
“Currently, the SVPI airport clocks movement of up to 20-25 aircraft in a day. However, this is expected to double up to 40-50 movements on match days as well as days when VGGS summit will be held. Many a time, celebrities, business tycoons, world leaders tend to attend these cricket matches and therefore, greater traction of charter flights is expected around the World Cup matches,” said a source.
A non-stop round trip from Chennai to Ahmedabad will cost you well over INR 45,000 per person, even when booked three months in advance on July 15. Under normal circumstances, this would cost INR 10,000 for a round trip, travel industry sources said. Even cities closer to Ahmedabad like Mumbai and Delhi have clocked 339% and 203% increases in fares for these dates.
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport has space to accommodate some 43 aircraft including both scheduled as well as non-scheduled. Many a time, traffic also comes to the city airport from other cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru where the rush and cost of parking both are high.“Meanwhile, arrival of business delegates from across the globe as well as heads of states is also expected for the upcoming VGGS 2024. A number of celebrities are also expected to visit Ahmedabad in January for the Filmfare Awards. So, the charter movement will be significantly high during the month,” the source further added.
Last year, around the state assembly elections, charter aircraft movements at the city airport were the highest with around 1,300 to and fro movements clocked at the general aviation terminal.
Interestingly, even the charter operators are looking forward to inquiries from international and domestic players.
“Initial level discussions have already begun between charter operators and airport authorities to reserve parking spaces as we do anticipate a higher demand on match days as well as VGGS event days. Moreover, talks are already underway with brokers who typically route inquiries from clients including celebrities and business delegates about the movement,” said a charter aircraft company owner, on condition of anonymity.
Sources confirmed that airports in Vadodara and Surat are also being considered as a backup to temporarily park certain aircraft during bustling match and event days.
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