Bengaluru being a major textile and garment hub in south India, textile traders will have a direct linkage with wholesalers and manufacturers once AirAsia connects Surat with Bengaluru from June 1.

Industry sources said Karnataka has over 5 lakh garment workers and that Bengaluru alone houses more than 1,300 garment manufacturing units, which uses both MMF and cotton fabrics. Until now, dealers and manufacturers from Bengaluru were reluctant to visit Surat due to treacherous rail and road journey as Surat wasn’t connected with air route.

The textile sector expects that the export of polyester fabric is likely to witness a boost with more international connectivity to be provided by AirAsia from Bengaluru. Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s textile committee chairman Devkishan Manghani said, “As Delhi is the textile hub in north India and Kolkata in east India, Bengaluru is of south India. AirAsia’s announcement about Bengaluru-Surat flight service has made local traders and those in textile sector here happy. AirAsia is operating on international routes as well and the connectivity to Bengaluru is going to boost export of textiles from Surat.”

Federation of Surat Textile Traders’ Association (FOSTTA) secretary Champalal Bothra said, “South India alone has 25 per cent market share for fabrics manufactured in Surat. Bengaluru is the hub of textile trade and it is connected with all the textile mandis in south India. The flight connection with Bengaluru will definitely boost the textile business. We have been demanding air connectivity to South India for the past 10 years. At last, AirAsia has fulfilled our dream. Central government should consider Surat as a tier-I city and provide all infrastructural and transportation facilities to us.”