14 New Flights Between India and London Soon

India and the United Kingdom have enhanced their air service agreement. This will allow airlines from both countries to operate an extra 14 weekly flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and the airports in Delhi and Mumbai.

Representatives from the civil aviation ministry and the UK’s Department for Transport (DFT) formalized this agreement by signing a memorandum of understanding earlier this month. 

More Flights to London

The United Kingdon's Department of Transport said that  the updated agreement elevates the weekly flight cap from 56 to 70 between London Heathrow and Delhi and Mumbai for airlines from both countries starting this winter season. The exact number and schedule of these new flights will be determined by the airlines themselves. Aviation analysts believe that the increase in the number of flights can potentially lower airfares between the routes. 

However, the updated agreement is especially beneficial for British carriers, who had maxed out their limit of 56 flights per week. Indian airlines like Air India and Vistara operate 38 flights weekly between London Heathrow and the airports in Delhi and Mumbai.

In line with the updated agreement, Virgin Atlantic has already announced the launch of a second London-Mumbai service beginning at the end of October.

Busy Route

About four million passengers travelled between India and the UK last year, making this one of the busiest routes from India. A majority of this traffic was managed by Delhi and London Heathrow airports, followed by Mumbai and London Gatwick, with Manchester and Kochi also seeing significant passenger volumes.

Air India commanded about 30 percent of the passenger market share. The airline also services Gatwick and Birmingham, focusing mainly on direct routes, whereas British Airways and Virgin Atlantic facilitate a substantial amount of connecting traffic to the US.