UK MP questions shifting of London-Ahmedabad flights from Heathrow to Gatwick

Gareth Thomas, who represents London’s Harrow West, said the decision to operate flights from Gatwick instead of Heathrow would add “significant travelling time and cost”

• Chandrashekar Bhat
• 14 April, 2023

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By: Chandrashekar Bhat

A senior Labour MP has questioned the rationale behind moving London-Ahmedabad direct flights from Heathrow to Gatwick Airport.

Air India moved four of its services from Heathrow to Gatwick last month and this included the flights connecting the British Capital with Ahmedabad.

Gareth Thomas, who represents London’s Harrow West in the Commons, said the decision to operate flights from Gatwick instead of Heathrow would add “significant travelling time and cost” for many of his constituents using the service.

The chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Gujaratis, wrote to the chief executives of Air India, Heathrow and the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority on Friday (14), seeking to know what consultation was made before deciding on the move.

He argued that as 65 per cent of the British Gujarati community lived in the M25 range of Greater London, the demand for flights from Heathrow was “high”.

“An increase in flight frequency from Heathrow would be welcome, rather than shifting the flights to Gatwick,” the shadow minister for international trade said.

The introduction of the Heathrow-Ahmedabad direct flight in 2015 was the result of “lengthy campaigning by the Gujarati community from 1999”, the MP said and asked the authorities what would be the impact of the latest change on the travel time and ancillary costs for passengers.

Eastern Eye could not reach Air India for comment and a response from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority is awaited.