Kolkata: Direct flights Kolkata-London Air India which was originally allowed to operate only on August 22 and 29 has now been extended until 30 October once a week.
It brings help for people who want to travel between Bengal and England to visit friends and family during Puja Durga.
“The Ministry of Civil Aviation (Moca) has approved Kolkata-Heathrow services once a day until the end of October under the air bubble agreement between the two countries.
Even after that, we hope that flights are extended and continue to operate unless the third wave causes alarm and leads to the suspension of international flights.
Until now, there were no indications like that, “said AI official to Ti.
Air India has introduced Kolkata-London services last September, at first with a frequency twice a week which was reduced to once a week from October 25.
But the flight was suspended from December 22 amid fear of the spread of the British strain.
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It was only last week, August 22, that two special flights were allowed in August to meet the request of students traveling to join the classroom later this month or early next month.
On Tuesday, Moca gave its extension until October 30.
This news has brought cheerfully to people in the UK who have relatives in Kolkata and usually travel to the city during Durga Puja.
There is also a large enough population in Kolkata, who has family members who settled in the UK they visited during the Puja break.
The NRI community in the UK, especially Bengalis, celebrates Durga Puja with many apocalypse.
“At present, there are 10 days quarantine requirements in the UK that will not cause problems for those who visit relatives because the minimum duration of stay is usually a month.
We expect good traffic in this sector,” said the Chairman (East) travel agent association Manav Soni.
The aircraft used for flights is the Dreamliner Boeing B787 with 256 seats in two class configurations – 18 business class seats and other economic classes.
Even though the first flight burden was not too high considering it was the first to operate in eight months, the fight that departed Kolkata on August 29 had a good burden, AI source said.
Meanwhile, reintroduction of Emirates and Qatar Airways flights and easing restrictions by the UAE have helped transit passengers, especially entrepreneurs traveling to Europe or the US.
Emirates currently operates three flights a week on Sundays on Wednesday and Friday while Qatar operates on Sundays and Tuesdays.
Fly Dubai plans to start operating from September 3 with five flights a week on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
“It would be good to have an international flight back in Kolkata after a long gap Punjabi.