More direct flights to connect India to overseas destinations this winter

INDIA'S international connectivity in the upcoming winter schedule (WS) is set to increase by nearly 10% compared to the previous winter.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given the green light to a schedule that includes 2,336 weekly flights to and from India, operated by 80 foreign airlines.

This marks a 9.4% rise from the 2,136 weekly flights by 75 foreign airlines in the last winter season. Effective from October 29, 2023, this schedule offers a total of 5.9 lakh seats per week, up from 5.5 lakh in the previous winter, according to DGCA data.

The winter schedule, which commenced on October 29, 2023, will continue until March 30, 2024. During this period, a total of 80 scheduled foreign carriers will be providing flights to and from 23 Indian stations. This is an increase from the 75 overseas airlines that operated during the 2022-23 winter schedule, according to the DGCA.

Eight foreign airlines that were absent in the previous winter schedule will be operating flights in the current season.

These airlines are Air Peace, Batik Air, Belavia, EL AL Israel, ITA Airways, Neos S.p.a, NOK AIR, and Uganda Airlines. Conversely, three airlines, namely Air Austral, Salam Air and Yemen Airways, that had flights during the previous winter schedule will not be operating services in the 2023-24 winter schedule.

The number of weekly services has risen to 2,336, reflecting a 9.36% increase compared to the 2,136 flights in the previous year. The total number of seats available on a weekly basis in the current winter schedule is 5,89,748, up from 5,49,610 seats in the 2022-23 winter schedule.

These 2,336 weekly departures are scheduled to connect 23 Indian cities to 50 countries, including destinations like Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK and Uzbekistan. 

The 23 Indian cities encompass Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Calicut (Kozhikode), Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Lucknow. Other included cities are Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Trivandrum, Trichy, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, Air India has said it will start flights between Mumbai and Melbourne.