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Surat-based airliner Ventura AirConnect Ltd (VAL) will soon resume its intra-state flights connecting Surat with Rajkot and Bhavnagar as the company has received the Air Operator Permit for non-scheduled flight operations from the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday.
The civil aviation regulator, DGCA, issued the permit authorising Ventura AirConnect, promoted by Surat-based diamond barons, to undertake commercial air operations in line with the specifications defined. The company plans to launch services between Ahmedabad-Udaipur and Ahmedabad-Indore, apart from intra-state flights in Gujarat.
In late 2015, Ventura's services were suspended for security reasons and expiry of its licence. Apart from the DGCA permit, it has been given a commitment letter to launch intra-state air connectivity in Gujarat.
"We are in discussion with the state tourism department and will launch the routes in keeping with their requirements. Some potential routes could be between Ahmedabad-Surat and connections to towns such as Bhuj, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Keshod from Ahmedabad. Also, we plan to launch a flight between Udaipur and Indore from Ahmedabad," Capt Kartikey Garasia, CEO, Ventura AirConnect, told BusinessLine .
Since the launch of services from Surat in December 2014, the airline has ferried 10,000 passengers with average occupancy of 75-80 per cent, before its services were suspended in late 2015.
The airline received the commitment letter from Chief Minister Anandiben Patel at the Gujarat Air Show in Ahmedabad last month. It operates a fleet of 9-seater Cessna (single turboprop) 208B Grand Caravans.
The airline, under the company name Diamond Aeronautics Pvt Ltd, is expected to provide services for three years with government subsidy of Rs 22,900 per flying hour for 200 hours monthly.
"We will resume our previous flights between Surat and Bhavnagar and Surat and Rajkot immediately. This will be followed by the launch of other routes as well," added Garasia.
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