Air India will launch its first direct flight between Ahmedabad and Pune On August 20. Air India officials said in announcing the new flight that it will meet the growing demand for air connectivity between the two “smart cities.”
The flight time between the two cities is estimated to be 85 to 95 minutes. The new Air India flight 0481 will leave Ahmedabad at 10:45 a.m. and arrive in Pune at 12:10 p.m. According to reports, the return flight AI 0482 will depart from Pune airport at 12:40 p.m. and arrive at Ahmedabad airport at 14:15 p.m.
“Ahmedabad and Pune are key growth centers in Gujarat and Maharashtra, respectively. This new addition is set to improve Air India’s domestic connectivity and empower customers with more travel options, ” said Campbell Wilson, MD, and CEO, Air India.
Apart from the Ahmedabad-Pune route, Air India will also start two new frequencies on Delhi-Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, Mumbai to Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai to Bengaluru route. The announcement of the new flight comes in the backdrop of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s decision to remove the airfare caps imposed on domestic airlines in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Flight services on the new route will use the restored Air India aircraft that had been grounded for prolonged periods due to the COVID-19 pandemic and various other reasons. Of the total 70 narrow-body aircraft part of Air India’s fleet, 54 are currently operating while the remaining are expected to return to services by next year.
The flight services on the Ahmedabad-Pune route are part of the Tata-owned airlines’ announcement of 24 additional domestic flights from August 20.