The debut flight, AI1111, took off from Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at 9:23 am. Passengers aboard will transit through Delhi to reach multiple international locations, including Dubai, Colombo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kathmandu, and Phuket.
The launch was officiated by Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, who remarked that this new model will enable travelers to initiate their international journeys directly from their hometowns.
“Today marks a significant advancement toward fulfilling our vision of enhancing air travel accessibility and establishing a future-ready, self-sufficient Indian aviation sector that is efficient, inclusive, and competitive on a global scale,” stated Naidu.
Under the Easy Connect framework, travelers departing from smaller cities can access Air India’s hubs in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru and continue to international points with streamlined airport processes.
The airline indicated that passengers can complete their check-in for the entire trip at their point of departure, handle immigration there, and have their luggage directly forwarded to the final destination.
Easy Connect flight bookings are now available through Air India’s website, mobile application, contact center, and travel agencies.
According to the airline, travelers from Varanasi can now connect to 17 international destinations via Delhi within four hours of arrival, encompassing London, Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, Zurich, Dubai, Riyadh, and Jeddah.
Air India mentioned that Indian passport holders utilizing this service must register with the DigiYatra app and upload their boarding passes before departure. Web check-in and customs declaration services are unavailable at spoke airports.
During the launch, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson pointed out that many Indian travelers presently depend on foreign airports for international connections. He emphasized that this new service will enable travelers to commence their international journeys from their native cities more conveniently.
“In contemporary India, a family in Varanasi, Amritsar, or Vishakhapatnam should not have to manage unfamiliar transit locations to reach global destinations. They should have the ability to begin their international journey from home, on their own land, with confidence, comfort, and pride,” Wilson expressed.
The airline plans to gradually expand the Easy Connect service to an additional 11 cities in the upcoming months, including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Vadodara, and Visakhapatnam.
As per Air India, almost 25 million passengers travel on long-haul routes to and from India annually. Out of these, approximately 20 million are connecting travelers, with about 17 million currently using overseas hubs instead of Indian airports.
