After 11 years, Air India has resumed London to Kolkata direct flight service from today. This direct flight service will continue till October 24 with two flights taking off from London Heathrow on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The flight will depart London Heathrow at 12:00 PM local time and land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata at 02:20 AM local time. Air India will deploy Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in this route.
Although this is a temporary Vande Bharat service, many are hoping this temporary service will eventually become a permanent route in the days to come.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been seeking direct flights from Kolkata to London since 2011. But the airlines denied operating the Kolkata-London flight thinking that there will be less number of passengers on board.
British Airways had stopped operating direct flights between London and Kolkata in March 2009.
Flights from Kolkata to London will be operated every Thursday and Sunday till 24th October.