'Surat Aviation' is an effort by members of 'We Want a Working Airport at Surat' group on Facebook, more popularly known as WWWAS. In official circles at Surat, it is referred to as the Airport Group on Facebook.
During independence Surat was at most a town, smaller than other cities in Gujarat that are well connected by air to the rest of the country. Even though Surat was not having its own working airport for commercial flights, businessmen from Surat conveniently used the infrastructure available at Mumbai Airport about 300 km away. This enabled Surat to prosper and today Surat is:-
In May 2007, Indian Airlines started the first scheduled flight between Surat and Delhi. This flight received tremendous response from the citizens of Surat. However, rather than increase the facilities, there was a degradation in facilities and the connectivity was gradually reduced to a mere formality. In 2011 the WWWAS group was formed to raise the voice of the citizens for enhanced air connectivity and better facilities at the airport.
During independence Surat was at most a town, smaller than other cities in Gujarat that are well connected by air to the rest of the country. Even though Surat was not having its own working airport for commercial flights, businessmen from Surat conveniently used the infrastructure available at Mumbai Airport about 300 km away. This enabled Surat to prosper and today Surat is:-
- The ninth largest city in the country on the verge of becoming a metropolis.
- The second largest city in Gujarat.
- The fourth fastest growing city in the world.
- The largest diamond processing center in the world.
- The largest textile processing center in India.
In May 2007, Indian Airlines started the first scheduled flight between Surat and Delhi. This flight received tremendous response from the citizens of Surat. However, rather than increase the facilities, there was a degradation in facilities and the connectivity was gradually reduced to a mere formality. In 2011 the WWWAS group was formed to raise the voice of the citizens for enhanced air connectivity and better facilities at the airport.
