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 operation was carried out on the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel MT Olympic Life, which was en route from Fujairah in the UAE to Kochi when an explosion was reported in its hull