Ahmedabad, September 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The launch of international hub-and-spoke flight services from Ahmedabad will make overseas travel more convenient for passengers from Gujarat, while travellers from smaller cities will benefit from reduced duplication of boarding, customs and immigration procedures, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said.
The service was formally inaugurated at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, making it the third Indian airport after Amritsar and Varanasi to be brought under the international hub-and-spoke framework of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, Patel said the initiative was part of India’s broader expansion of aviation infrastructure and air connectivity. He said infrastructure development was playing a key role in the country’s rapid growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Highlighting the expansion of regional connectivity, Patel said the government’s ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik’ approach had helped expand air travel through the UDAN scheme, under which more than 679 routes had become operational.
He said the initiative had helped make air travel accessible to ordinary citizens, while the new hub-and-spoke service would further improve the ease of international travel for passengers from Gujarat.
Patel also highlighted Gujarat’s growing aviation infrastructure, saying the state currently has 19 operational airports, including three international airports.
He said aircraft leasing and financing activities at GIFT City and the greenfield airport being developed at Dholera were strengthening Gujarat’s position in the aviation sector.
“The Dholera airport would provide fresh momentum to the economies of Gujarat and the country in the coming years,” Patel said, adding that the project would also be significant in the context of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit scheduled for January 2027.
Under the hub-and-spoke model, passengers from smaller airports connect through larger hubs for onward international journeys. Baggage, customs and immigration procedures can be completed at the originating airport, reducing the need to repeat these processes at the connecting hub.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot, Chief Secretary M K Das, Adani Airport Director Jeet Adani, Air India Group Head of Corporate Affairs P Balaji, Tourism Secretary Kuldeep Arya, civil aviation officials and representatives of Air India and Adani Airport attended the launch.
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