Jamnagar airport braces for pre-wedding rush

Jamnagar airport braces for pre-wedding rush

On any other day, the small airport at Jamnagar sees a maximum of six arrivals. But between Friday and Sunday, more than 200 private jets will touch down at the airport, carrying more than 2,000 global tycoons and high-profile guests for the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries chairman and one of the world’s richest persons.

Executives at charter aircraft companies said that while the Ambanis are primarily using 15 Reliance-owned aircraft, including an Airbus A319, they have also hired some planes from them. “We are doing 10-12 flights for the event from Delhi and Mumbai,” said Rajan Mehra, CEO of luxury charter operator Club One Air.

The Ambanis are offering charter jet flights to guests from New Delhi and Mumbai but the invitees have been asked to limit themselves to only two luggage items or three suitcases per couple, showed a directive issued to guests and reviewed by ET. The document also says that in case of more luggage, there is no guarantee it will arrive on the same flight.

“We have prepared for two months for this day which will see the airport handling more than 200 chartered aircraft. During these five days, there will be more than 400 aircraft movements at the airport,” said DK Singh, airport director, Jamnagar.

The airport has upgraded its civil and electrical infrastructure and increased departure area space for handling the unprecedented activity, he said.

Jamnagar is a domestic airport. For the multiple high-profile foreign guests, the airport has taken special permission to set up enclosures for immigration and customs clearance. Aircraft are arriving from across the world – Dubai, Doha, Paris, London and Malta, for instance.

The guest list includes Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, BlackRock Inc co-founder Larry Fink, Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai and Saudi Aramco’s chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan.

Ground handling firms such as Air India Air Transport Services, which provide services like loading and unloading of luggage, have deployed 100 additional staff at the airport for the event.

However, the aircraft carrying the guests will not be parked at the airport and instead will fly to nearby aviation facilities – Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Porbandar.

“Jamnagar is a civil enclave used by both military and civil aviation. Hence, it is not possible to give overnight parking permits. However, we have created space for one ambulance that will be stationed for the guests,” Singh said.

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