Surat Airport (STV/VASU) is situated in the southwest of the city of Surat and in the Gujarat state. It is the second busiest airport in the state of Gujarat with 1,2 million passengers per year and numbers are growing by about 75% annualy. The traffic is not that interesting, however four commercial airlines and some charter plus cargo carriers operate in & out of STV on a schedule basis. In addition, a flight school is also based in Surat – the airport, which was build by the government in the early 1970s.
Currently the expansion of the terminal building and apron is in progress as the airport is expecting a massive growth of passenger numbers in the future. Surat is the city with the 3rd highest inhabitants density worldwide creating a huge number of possible future travellers.

Written by Severin Hackenberger in cooperation with Rishi Mera. Last Update: Spring 2020

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
04/22	2906m / 9534ft – Bituminous
Terminals	One passenger terminal used by all airlines
Spotting Information
Ladder	Walls are high but we wouldn’t recommend to use Ladder for spotting to clear the wall
Car/Public Transport	For spots 1 & 2 a car or taxi is needed. For spots 3 & 4 you can use public transport to reach the main place, then you’ve to walk for minutes to get to the final spot.
Drinks/Food	There’s a mall near Spot #4, but to access restaurants/shops from others spots you’ve to walk for a while.Take stuff with you rather all the time!
Hotels	There’s is The Grand Bhagwati hotel near spot #3 and it’s the only good hotel near the airport.
Season	There’s no particularly season, but summer sees more heat haze – however, also depending on the weather on the day you’re spotting.
Security	You’ve to stay aware of police at Spots #1, 3 and 4 as they may approach and ask you. Always keep an ID with you. Otherwise spotting is cool here.
Runway Usage
General Info	Most of the time RWY 04 is used for arrivals and departures due to the winds.

	Spot #1 – Dumas Road – 04 Arrivals
WHERE	You can reach this spot by car and taxi only as no public transport is close. This spot has neither a particularly parking (so you can stop your car near the street somewhere), nor an exact location. Depending on your favourite angle and the time of day it is along “Surat – Dumas road” in the evening or you can also walk in the bumpy way along the wall to the east in order to get to the morning side.
WHAT	This spot is best for 04 Arrivals – 22 departures are already too high.
TIME	All day, depending on your position as you can stay on both sides of the runway axes.
MISC.	Nothing around. Take water and food with you. Car recommended to get here. Be careful as a street is running just next to you! Drivers can be furious!
FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm depending on your exact position/the angle

STV-Spot1

STV-Spot1

STV-Spot1

	Spot #2 – Kali Temple – Runway activities
WHERE	This spot is the hardest is to reach as you have to drive your vehicle through a bumpy road along the eastern side of the airport. First, turn off “Dumas road” though to the southeast and drive till the wall on the left ends. Then turn left again and drive up north till you reach this temple facility after hundreds of meters. Get rid of your car there, walk in (if opened) and first approach the owhner to tell him about your plans. Then go up the little mound on its western side and you’ll see the runway.
WHAT	Most runway activities, however 04 Arrivals and Departures are the best.
TIME	Sunrise till early noon.
MISC.	Be respectful, this is a religious place! In addition, it’s a private property so you can’t always spot from there. Futhermore, we recommend you to go and get a permission from the owner when arriving here. At leats tell him what you are doing and it is also nice/recommended to give him some pennies for the opportunity. Nothing really around though, take everything you need with you. Car needed to get here, however no ladder needed to spot over the fence. Heat haze may occur on hot days around noon. Some trees/the wall may partly also disturb your view.
FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm

STV-Spot2

STV-Spot2

STV-Spot2

	Spot #3 – Highway 53 – 22 Arrivals
WHERE	This spot is situated north of the airfield along the highway 53, but you have to stay away a bit in order to be safe of vehicles. So try to stand directly at the wall or even on the field. However, this spot is easily accessible as you can park your car in the nearby service road and wait there. If you stay at the hotel you can easily walk from there.
WHAT	This spot is best for 22 Arrivals – 04 departures are already too high.
TIME	Depending on you position/the side of the runway axes, but you can use this spot all day and then just move sides at noon.
MISC.	Nothing really around as the closest facilities are >1km away. Take water and food with you. Car recommended to get here. Be very careful as a street is running just next to you! Drivers can be furious!
FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm depending on your exact position/the angle

Unluckily we can’t provide any example pictures yet.

	Spot #4 – Shopping centre – 04 Arrivals + 22 departures
WHERE	This spot is far away though, but it is the most easiest to reach without any difficulties. It is located just next to a mall on the north: after reaching the VR mall you have to walk towards the empty ground in the south for few mins and then you can see the planes approaching RWY 04 and departing RWY 22 freely from the meadow. Easily accesible by public transport as the big bus “Udhana Magdalla” stop is just next to it in the north.
WHAT	Not the best spot for RWY 04 arrivals and RWY 22 departures but still a free view.
TIME	Early afternoon till sunset.
MISC.	Everything you need is inside the nearby VR mall. Easily accesible by PT.
FOCAL LENGTH	200-400mm

STV-Spot4

STV-Spot4

STV-Spot4