Air services to Diu, Daman to cut travel time, boost tourism

SURAT: Kanhaiya Paanwala, a real estate developer in Adajan, always wanted to fly to Diu with his family members. He still remembers the treacherous 16-hour long road journey from Surat to Diu. Paanwala’s dream came true with Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off Daman’s first commercial chopper service to Diu on Saturday. The PM also launched Diu-Ahmedabad flight service which will reduce the eight-hour road journey to just over an hour.
“It’s amazing. Now we can fly directly to Diu. But it will still take three hours for us to travel by road to Daman and get the chopper to Diu. I have gathered information from my friends in Daman about the chopper service and he has promised me to help book four tickets for the next weekend after Holi festival,” said Paanwala.

Like Paanwala, there are many tourists in the Diamond City and south Gujarat, yearning for the air connectivity to Diu for last many years.

Tourists from both Diu and Daman will be able to fly to their favourite destinations within an hour, dramatically cutting short the treacherous 16-hour road journey from south Gujarat to Diu.

Pawan Hans Limited, a government of India enterprise, has launched the service in a six-seater chopper. The chopper will depart from Daman helipad at 9.30am to reach Diu at 10.40am. In the return journey, the chopper will depart from Diu at 11.30am to reach Daman at 12.40pm.

Official sources said that the chopper service could be availed at the introductory price of Rs 2,600 as one-way fare. The government of India is providing subsidy to the airline company for three months.
On the other hand, PM also flagged off the flight service between Diu and Ahmedabad. Air Odisha will be operating 18-seater Beechcraft B-1900D plane with the one-way fare of Rs 2,050. The flight will depart daily from Ahmedabad airport at 12.35 pm to reach Diu at 1.50 pm and in the return the flight will take off from Diu at 2.00 pm and land in Ahmedabad at 3.10 pm.
Secretary of Daman Hotel and Restaurant Association (DHRA), Harish Thangal said, “The chopper service will go a long way in attracting tourists from Saurashtra region. There are many visitors, especially the bachhus from Surat and nearby areas who will get a double advantage to enjoy their weekends in Daman as well as Diu. They can fly to Diu in just an hour and come back the next day.”
Deputy director, Tourism, Daman and Diu, Nitin Jindal said, “The 18-seater aircraft will fly tourists from Ahmedabad to Diu and they could come to Daman in the chopper. So, this is going to be a three way connect to Diu and Daman.”
by via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India