Air India Express has stopped bookings for its Kolkata-Surat-Kolkata flight effective January 1, 2025. Meanwhile, IndiGo Airlines has announced a new daily flight on the same route, starting December 27, 2024, with ticket bookings already open.
The IndiGo flight is scheduled to depart Kolkata at 4:00 pm, arrive in Surat at 6:50 pm, and return from Surat at 7:20 pm, reaching Kolkata at 9:50 pm.
This development comes as the Kolkata-Surat route ranks third in passenger traffic at Surat airport. According to passenger data, the route handled 1,70,496 passengers in 2018-19, 1,13,845 in 2022-23, and 1,25,188 in 2023-24. From April to September 2024 alone, 61,121 passengers were recorded. Despite this substantial traffic, Air India Express is withdrawing its service from January 1, 2025.