Air India today commenced the first ever direct flight from Ahmedabad, the economic and industrial hub of Gujarat to London. The inaugural flight took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad at 0430 hrs. With the commencement of this flight, Air India became the first airline to offer direct flight between Ahmedabad and London.
“Today is an auspicious day. I would like to congratulate who are travelling for the first time from this flight and staff of Air India,” said Saurabh Patel, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Chhajer, Vice President, Cox & Kings Ltd, said “This is a great initiative by Air India. There will be tremendous growth in passenger traffic from this flight.” The flight will not only be beneficial for leisure travellers, but many corporates will also benefit hugely with the direct flight from Ahmedabad.
“This flight has given great connectivity to corporate travellers and we wish all the best to Air India”, said Suresh B V, Executive Vice President – Directors’ Office, Cadila Pharmaceuticals.
This flight is the fifth frequency as Air India already operates four frequencies to London – three from Delhi and one from Mumbai. The daily flight is likely to hugely benefit the 1.5 million-strong Indian diaspora living in Britain. Catering to the strong demand of more than 6 lakh Indians from the state of Gujarat, the passengers travelling by the direct flight will not need to change aircraft at Mumbai.
