Business
Air India hub-spoke scheme moves over 9,000 passengers
The Hindu BusinessLine·
More than 9,000 passengers used Air India hub-and-spoke flights via Delhi in under four months, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. Operations began from Varanasi on June 25 and later covered Amritsar and Ahmedabad. By October 17, 976 travellers left from Varanasi and 4,293 from Amritsar. Another 1,689 passengers arrived in Amritsar via Delhi on the same scheme.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Travellers from Varanasi, Amritsar and Ahmedabad can finish customs and immigration at the first departure point.
- Connections with more than four hours' layover no longer get the hub-and-spoke facility.
- Guwahati spoke flights planned for October 27 are now expected only in November.
What's Happening
- Amritsar joined on July 28 and Ahmedabad on September 1.
- The ministry said passenger numbers show growing acceptance of the facility.
- Air India did not respond to a query on the scheme for the report.
Why Hubs Matter for India
- Nearly 70 percent of 25 million long-haul travellers to or from India still connect via foreign hubs.
- The scheme aims to feed regional traffic into Indian hubs and strengthen domestic airports.
- An industry expert said airspace closures and fewer Air India international flights have complicated transit flows.
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