Having launched its 3x weekly service from Amritsar to London Stansted on 31 October, Air India is now reportedly interested in adding flights from Mumbai International to the London airport.
According to the PTI news agency, traffic on the Mumbai-London route has increased by 25% over the last five years. UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data indicates that in 2018, traffic between Mumbai and Heathrow was up by 16% year-on-year to over 1.12 million passengers, making it the biggest route in volume terms between the two countries.
Traffic is expected to spike again this year following the resumption of daily flights by Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) on October 28 and comes despite the termination of Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) flights on the airport pair. In addition to the Virgin Atlantic flights, Air India flies daily between Mumbai and Heathrow, while British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) offers a 2x daily operation.
"There is a need for more traffic to London region," said Air India Regional Director Ravi Bodade. "However, due to the slot constraint issues at London Heathrow, we are not able to add new flights on the Mumbai-London route. There are options to go to London Stansted from Mumbai. We are evaluating this route."
A decision on the new sector could be expected very soon, as Bodade suggested the route may even commence during the current winter season. He also said that Air India may deploy its B787-8 on the route.
