Air India on Tuesday resumed non-stop flights between Amritsar and Birmingham after a gap of eight years.
The flight will operate twice-a-week on Tuesday and Thursday with a Boeing 787 aircraft.
According to an Air India official, the airline had suspended its direct operations on this route in 2010.
Great to be at the launch of the non-stop service to #Amritsar from @bhx_official. This route will allow direct access to the major commercial, cultural & spiritual centre in the heart of the #Punjab and the home of the Golden Temple. @BHX_Ambassador pic.twitter.com/BErdRlpuSb
— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) February 20, 2018
Great to have been able to express my gratitude to @airindiain and @bhx_official by presenting them a present from @UKParliament pic.twitter.com/J3e0df4YZ4
— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) February 20, 2018
Another official said with Air India resuming the service it is the only airline to offer direct flights between Punjab and the UK.
The flight AI 117 will take off from Delhi at 11.20 am and reach Amritsar at 12.25 pm. The flight will then depart from Amritsar at 1.55 pm and reach Birmingham at 5.15 pm local time, according to an Air India statement.
The return flight AI 118 will take off from Birmingham at 6.45 pm and reach Amritsar the following day at 7.45 am. For its onward journey to Delhi, the flight will leave from Amritsar at 9.15 am and arrive in Delhi at 10.30 am, the statement added.
The inaugural flight was flagged off from Amritsar by Union minister Vijay Sampla, MPs Shwait Malik and Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Director-Commercial, Air India Pankaj Srivastava.
Former civil aviation minister Praful Patel had inaugurated Air India's maiden flight on this route back in 2005
