25 June,2026 01:58 PM IST | Varanasi | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/Special Arrangement
Air India on Thursday launched its first 'Easy Connect' flight under the Centre's new hub-and-spoke aviation model, marking the beginning of a phased initiative aimed at improving international connectivity from smaller Indian cities through major domestic hubs.
The inaugural service, Flight AI1111, departed from Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at 9:23 am, carrying passengers who will connect through Delhi to international destinations including Dubai, Colombo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kathmandu and Phuket.
The first Easy Connect flight was inaugurated by Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu at Varanasi airport. The service is the first to operate under the government's new hub-and-spoke framework, which seeks to enable passengers from non-metro cities to begin international journeys from their home airports through seamless domestic connections.
Speaking at the launch, Naidu said, "Today we take a major step forward towards realising our vision of making air travel more accessible and building a future-ready, self-reliant Indian aviation industry that is efficient, inclusive, and globally competitive. Our new hub-and-spoke model paves the way for a monumental shift in how our citizens travel - where regardless of the city one lives in India, one can begin their international journey from their home city and travel across the globe with ease and confidence, on India's own wings."
The minister also presented the first passenger on the inaugural flight with a commemorative boarding pass.
The launch event was attended by Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Puneet Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Vipin Kumar, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India; Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson; P. Balaji, Group Head for Governance, Risk, Compliance and Corporate Affairs at Air India; along with other senior government and airline officials.
Air India said the Easy Connect model will be expanded in phases, with services to be introduced from 11 additional cities over the coming months. These include Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam.
The airline said the initiative will connect more domestic "spoke" cities with its primary hubs in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, allowing passengers to access international flights through a single integrated journey.
According to Air India, nearly 25 million passengers travel on long-haul international routes to and from India every year. Of these, around 20 million are connecting passengers, with nearly 85 per cent currently transiting through overseas hubs instead of Indian airports.
Campbell Wilson said the initiative is designed to reduce dependence on foreign transit hubs and make international travel more convenient for Indian passengers.
He said, "India is a major force in global aviation, and yet, for decades a meaningful share of Indian travellers flying abroad have routed their journeys through overseas transit points - often at the cost of comfort and convenience. Air India's âEasy Connect' flights is a response to that reality, and we are grateful to the Government of India for its vision and support in enabling this framework."
Wilson added, "In today's India, a family in Varanasi, Amritsar, or Vishakhapatnam should not have to navigate unfamiliar transit environments to reach the world. They should be able to begin their international journey from their home city, on their own soil, feeling confident, comfortable, and proud as they connect seamlessly to global destinations."
Under the Easy Connect model, passengers travelling from designated spoke cities will receive through check-in to their final international destination at their departure airport. Immigration formalities will also be completed at the origin airport, allowing travellers to transit through hub airports such as Delhi or Mumbai without collecting and rechecking baggage.
The system is intended to simplify international transfers by reducing multiple airport procedures that passengers typically face during connecting journeys.
Air India said Indian passport holders using the service for international connections must enrol in DigiYatra and upload their boarding passes on the application before departure. Web check-in and customs declaration facilities will not be available at spoke airports under the current process.
Bookings for Easy Connect flights are now open through Air India's website, mobile application, contact centre and authorised travel agents.
The inaugural AI1111 service from Varanasi to Delhi offers onward connections to 17 international destinations within four hours of arriving in Delhi, including London, Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, Zurich, Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah.
