Amritsar to London : Cricketer Harbhajan Singh, city MP take AI’s 1st direct flight

The aircraft, with its tail-wing emblazoned with Ek Onkar to mark the parkash purb, has a seating capacity of 256 and the plane was packed to its full capacity on the inaugural day

Marking the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Air India, the flag carrier airline of India, launched its direct flight between Amritsar and London from October 31, Thursday, and will fly thrice-a-week. The AI flight, that connects Shri Guru Ram Das Jee international airport at Amritsar with Stansted airport at London, is the only direct link between Amritsar and London.

The flight will be operational every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from October 31. (ht photo)

The inaugural 8-hour 20-minute flight to London (AI 165) took off from Amritsar at 3:10 am on Thursday, after an inaugural ceremony organised by airport authorities and reached London at 11:30 am (IST). The return flight to Amritsar (AI 166) took off from Stansted airport on the same day at 2:30 pm (IST) and reached Amritsar at 10:50 pm.

The aircraft, with its tail-wing emblazoned with Ek Onkar to mark the parkash purb, has a seating capacity of 256 and the plane was packed to its full capacity on the inaugural day. The flight will be operational every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from October 31.

Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla and cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who were part of the inaugural ceremony, travelled from Amritsar to London and vice-a-versa. On the occasion, MP Aujla said, “The Amritsar-London direct flight was a long pending demand of Punjabis. With the efforts of civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, we have received this gift on an auspicious occasion. The flight will also help boost tourism and trade between both nations. Sikhs also want a direct flight between Amritsar–Heathrow, Amritsar–Toronto and Amritsar–Vancouver, for which talks are underway.”