Air India on Thursday night announced the resumption of scheduled flights to and from Jeddah and Muscat after airspaces over Saudi Arabia and Oman were assessed as safe for operations.
The airline said additional special ad-hoc flights to Dubai, Muscat and Ras Al-Khaimah will operate on March 6 to bring stranded passengers back to India. Services to Europe and North America are currently operating normally through alternative routings considered safe by aviation authorities.
Earlier in the day, the Tata Group-owned carrier also unveiled plans to expand its Asian network with the launch of new non-stop services between Delhi and Hanoi, and Mumbai and Tokyo (Haneda), starting in the June quarter.
Air India said the five-times-a-week Delhi–Hanoi service will commence on May 1, complementing its existing daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City. The airline noted that the addition will provide travellers greater flexibility through “open-jaw” itineraries, allowing entry through Hanoi and exit via Ho Chi Minh City, or vice versa.
The Hanoi route will be operated using Airbus A320neo aircraft in a three-class configuration — business, premium economy and economy — adding 7,028 seats to and from Vietnam each month.
Air India will also begin four weekly non-stop flights between Mumbai and Tokyo (Haneda) using Boeing 787-8 aircraft, supplementing its existing Delhi–Tokyo services.
“Japan and Vietnam have both emerged as fast-growing destinations for Indian travellers, while India’s economic and commercial ties with both nations continue to deepen,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India.
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The airline added that it has expanded its Southeast Asia and Far East network significantly since privatisation, supported by partnerships including its codeshare with All Nippon Airways for onward connections from Tokyo to major Japanese cities.
(With Agency Inputs)
