Air India launches ‘Easy Connect’ flights

Air India has launched its first ‘Easy Connect’ flight under the government of India’s new hub-and-spoke framework. The inaugural Easy Connect service, flight AI1111, departed Varanasi at 09:23 AM recently, with international passengers on the flight connecting onward from Delhi to 9 destinations outside of India, such as Dubai, Colombo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kathmandu, Phuket. India’s Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the first ‘Easy Connect’ flight from Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, saying: “Today we take a major step forward towards realising our vision of making air travel more accessible and building a future-ready, self-reliant Indian aviation industry that is efficient, inclusive, and globally competitive. Our new hub-and-spoke model paves the way for a monumental shift in how our citizens travel – where regardless of the city one lives in India, one can begin their international journey from their home city and travel across the globe with ease and confidence, on India’s own wings.” As the first airline to begin the hub-and-spoke services, Air India is leading a phased nationwide rollout that will progressively connect more domestic “spoke” cities in addition to Varanasi to the airline’s primary hubs in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, unlocking seamless, end-to-end international travel for millions of Indians. Over the next few months, Air India aims to introduce ‘Easy Connect’ services from several other Indian cities progressively, including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Vadodara, and Visakhapatnam, thus fundamentally changing the way Indian travellers access destinations around the world. Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, said: “India is a major force in global aviation, and yet, for decades a meaningful share of Indian travellers flying abroad have routed their journeys through overseas transit points – often at the cost of comfort and convenience. Air India’s ‘Easy Connect’ flights is a response to that reality, and we are grateful to the Government of India for its vision and support in enabling this framework. In today’s India, a family in Varanasi, Amritsar, or Vishakhapatnam should not have to navigate unfamiliar transit environments to reach the world. They should be able to begin their international journey from their home city, on their own soil, feeling confident, comfortable, and proud as they connect seamlessly to global destinations.” Nearly 25 million passengers travel long-haul to and from India annually, of which close to 20 million are connecting travellers – and around 85% (approximately 17 million) of whom currently transit through overseas hubs rather than Indian airports. Air India’s ‘Easy Connect’ services are flights from spoke airports to hub airports, earmarked to provide seamless connectivity to international destinations beyond the hub airports. This means travellers from cities that do not have direct flights to many international destinations can now begin their international journey from their home city. Passengers travelling on Air India’s ‘Easy Connect’ flights are required to complete certain pre-departure and transit processes to ensure a seamless journey, including mandatory DigiYatra enrolment for Indian nationals. Indian passport holders connecting internationally on ‘Easy Connect’ flights are required to enrol in DigiYatra and ensure their boarding passes are uploaded on the app prior to departure. Web check-in and Customs declaration are not available at spoke airports. Air India Express launches new flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi Air India Express announced the launch of direct flights between Guwahati and Dubai, and Guwahati and Abu Dhabi, becoming the first airline to directly connect Northeast India with West Asia. The services will commence on 4 August and 7 August respectively. Guwahati, widely regarded as the gateway to Northeast India, is one of the largest stations in the Air India Express network, with around 120 weekly flights. The launch of direct services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi marks the airline’s first international operations from the city, providing convenient access to two of the UAE’s leading economic and travel hubs. The new routes are expected to support tourism, trade, and cultural exchange, while bringing Northeast India closer to key global markets and opportunities. With the addition of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Air India Express continues to strengthen its presence across Northeast India, where it now operates over 290 weekly flights from four stations in the region: Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Guwahati, and Imphal. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]