The Keshod Airport in Junagadh will be able to facilitate operations of AB-320 type aircraft by January 2027, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Tuesday in its response to an unstarred question by a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh.
Parimal Nathwani, the Director of Corporate Affairs at Reliance Industries Limited, and a member of the upper house of Parliament from the YSRCP, on Tuesday asked a series of unstarred questions about the Keshod Airport that were answered by Murlidhar Mohol, the MoS for Civil Aviation.
In his response to questions regarding infrastructure upgradation at the airport, Mohol, in a written reply, said: “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken the extension of the runway at Keshod Airport in Gujarat, to a length of 2500 metres to facilitate the operation of AB-320 type of aircraft. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 190.558 crore and the timeline for completion of the project has been set at 18 months.The project is underway with no reported delays. The projected date of completion of the project is January 2027.”
Replying to a question regarding the terminal building upgrade and its capacity, the ministry replied, “The AAI has undertaken the development of Keshod Airport in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 364 crore which includes the New Terminal Building at a cost of Rs 142.17 Crore. The new terminal building, spanning 6,500 square meters, is designed to handle a peak hour capacity of 400 departing and 400 arriving passengers simultaneously. The tender for construction of the new terminal building has been floated, and the timeline for completion of the project is 15 months from the date of the award of the work.”
Talking about the reasons behind him asking these questions, Nathwani said, “By upgrading Keshod Airport to allow operation of large-body aircraft, it will become easier for wildlife enthusiasts across the globe to travel to Gir National Park to see the only remaining Asiatic Lions in the world. At the same time, the Somnath temple owns a special place amongst the twelve jyotirlings, and Keshod Airport will facilitate devotees of Lord Shiva from India and abroad to visit this famous temple with much greater ease.”
Other questions asked by Nathwani related to flights at the airport were available on the Rajya Sabha website. According to the site, in a response to questions on the current flight schedule at Keshod Airport, the ministry said, “Presently, there are no scheduled flight operations from Keshod Airport.” Regarding flights cancelled since January 2025, the reply stated, “Since January 2025, 29 flights of Alliance Air on Ahmedabad-Keshod-Diu sector and 23 flights of Alliance Air on the Mumbai-Keshod-Mumbai sector were cancelled due to aircraft issues.”
Nathwani also wanted to know about the steps taken by the DGCA “to bring back the lost confidence of people to fly subsequent to the tragic incident of plane crash in Ahmedabad”.
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“Post the tragic crash in Ahmedabad, DGCA has ordered enhanced safety inspection of Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet and carried out heightened surveillance across various regions in India to ensure safe operations of aircraft. DGCA has also issued General Safety Circular 01 of 2025 for a comprehensive special audit to assess the aviation ecosystem and strengthen aviation safety architecture. The government has reviewed the safety practices of all major airlines and airports,” the ministry replied.