Ahmedabad, September 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Ahmedabad has become the third airport in India, after Amritsar and Varanasi, to be integrated into the country’s hub-and-spoke network for international passenger traffic, with Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu saying the initiative will make overseas travel more convenient for passengers from Gujarat.
The international hub-and-spoke flight services were formally launched at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Introduced by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the initiative aims to leverage Ahmedabad’s international connectivity, sizeable NRI population and the requirements of its business and industrial sectors.
“Under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the hub-and-spoke model is being started from Ahmedabad with the aim of taking India’s civil aviation sector to new heights globally,” Naidu said at the launch.
Explaining the new arrangement, the Union Minister said passengers travelling internationally from Ahmedabad would get convenient connectivity via Delhi to around 15 international destinations.
A key feature is that baggage check-in and immigration procedures can be completed at Ahmedabad before passengers board their connecting flights. This is expected to eliminate the inconvenience of repeating such procedures while changing flights at Delhi and make international journeys more seamless.
Under the hub-and-spoke model, passengers from smaller airports, or spokes, connect through larger airports, or hubs, for onward international travel. Completing baggage, customs and immigration procedures at the originating airport reduces processing requirements at the connecting hub. Automated baggage transfer is also expected to save passengers time and reduce airline operating costs.
Naidu said India’s civil aviation infrastructure has expanded significantly, with the number of airports rising from 74 in 2014 to more than 160 currently. The government plans to develop another 100 airports over the next decade while expanding the UDAN regional connectivity scheme, he said.
He added that Ahmedabad’s expanding air connectivity would support industries including hospitality, tourism, textiles, pharmaceuticals, diamonds and gems, engineering, semiconductors and manufacturing.
Passenger-focused initiatives such as the ‘UDAN Yatri Cafe’, an airport library and digital boarding passes are also being introduced to enhance the airport experience.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said reforms in aviation infrastructure and the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector were helping India move towards becoming a global aviation hub.
Civil Aviation Secretary Sameer Sinha said Ahmedabad’s inclusion, following Varanasi and Amritsar, represented an expansion of the seamless international connectivity network and described the model as beneficial for passengers, airlines and airports.
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