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SpiceJet is to start flying from Delhi and Mumbai to London Heathrow from December 4 this year, said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, on Monday. The flight will operate two times a week between Delhi and London and once a week between Mumbai and London.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Singh said that this is the first long-haul scheduled flight that SpiceJet is launching. He added that soon there would be announcements on long-haul flights to other countries.
Bubble agreement
The India-UK flights will be operated under the India-UK air bubble agreement. Operating in a bubble means that only specific categories of passengers such as NRIs and those holding long-term UK visas will be able to board the flights. India has started bubble flights with a number of countries to meet the travel needs of flyers during the lockdown on regular commercial flights because of the pandemic.
Singh said that the start of the flight will allow passengers arriving in India to reach over 50 destinations that SpiceJet flies to within the country. He added that the Amritsar-Manchester-Birmingham was also an important route.
The airline will operate an Airbus A-330-900 New Engine Option aircraft on the India-UK route. The low-cost airline will offer business and economy class seats on these flights. London will be the 10th international destination to which SpiceJet will be operating.
SpiceJet was recently designated as an Indian carrier that could fly to the UK.
At the moment, Air India and Vistara are operating multiple flights a week between India and the UK. From the UK side, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic earlier operated regular flights to various destinations in India. For instance, before the lockdown began, British Airways was operating twice a day between Delhi and London.
In the recent past, there were close to 700,000 Indian visitors to the UK, making India the 16th largest market for Britain with Indians being the 11th biggest spenders at £753 million, said a UK official in the virtual conference.
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