Flying to India

India has fairly extensive direct air connections to all the continents (ca 55 countries) except South and Central America where currently no direct flights are available from India. Over 70 international airlines fly presently to India. Air India (incl. Air India Express, a low-cost regional carrier), India's national airline, flies to destinations in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. Jet Airways, a private Indian airline, flies to regional destinations including Kathmandu, Bangkok, Colombo, Singapore, Riyadh, Damman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat and Sharjah in addition to serving long-haul destinations including London, Amsterdam, Paris and Toronto. Spicejet serves South Asian destinations while IndiGo, another Indian low-cost carrier, serves regional destinations including Dubai, Muscat, Kathmandu, Singapore and Bangkok.

The main international gateway airports in India are located at Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. Other airports having international flights include Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Mangalore, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam and Kozhikode in the southern region, Goa and Ahmedabad in western India, Varanasi, Amritsar, Lucknow, Jaipur and Srinagar in northern India, Nagpur in central India and Patna and Gaya in eastern India. India has signed more flexible and liberal air service agreements with a number of countries such as the UAE, United States, Japan, UK, Belgium, Germany, Bahrain and Hong Kong to name a few. The result of these new agreements is an increase in the number of flights and new point-to-point connections.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Ethiopian Airlines presently operates 2xdaily flights from both Delhi and Mumbai to Addis Ababa. The two daily flights out of Mumbai are operated with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 aircraft.


Potential/Announced New Air Routes to India

  • Air India: Delhi to Copenhagen (wef Sep 16, 3xweekly), Delhi to Stockholm (wef Aug 15, 3xweekly), Delhi to to Los Angeles (wef Sep 1), Tel Aviv (TBA) and Delhi to Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston (TBA)
  • Air India: Mumbai to Nairobi (TBA) and Mumbai to Frankfurt (TBA)
  • Air India Express: Delhi to Teheran (TBA)
  • Alitalia: Rome to Delhi (wef Oct 29, daily)
  • Jet Airways: Bengaluru to Amsterdam (wef Oct 29 2017, daily) and Chennai to Paris (wef Oct 29 2017, 5xweekly)
  • KLM: Amsterdam to Mumbai (wef Oct 29, 3xweekly)
  • SriLankan: Colombo to Coimbatore (wef Jul 16)
  • Vietjet Air: Ho Chi Minh City to Delhi (3xweekly) - launch date TBA
  • Thai AirAsia: Bangkok to Tiruchirapalli (wef Aug 12, daily)

Chennai - International Direct Air Route Map >>

Kolkata - International Direct Air Route Map >>

Hyderabad - International Direct Air Route Map >>

Mumbai - International Direct Air Route Map >>

Top Ten International Airlines Flying to India (Passengers Carried / Oct-Dec 2016)

AirlineInboundOutboundTotal
Emirates7112656518311363096
Etihad Airways347370318933666303
Qatar Airways286397248175534572
Air Arabia226418222026448444
Oman Air212808205260418068
SriLankan Airlines193478200419393897
Saudi Arabian Airlines187901185085372986
Thai Airways165621170985336606
Singapore Airlines146401129218275619
Lufthansa147054121038268092
Finnair Airbus A330
Finnair uses Airbus A330 equipment on its 3-5xweekly Helsinki-Delhi route.

International Air Routes to India - Indian Airline Operators

Air India Air India flies to New York (JFK), Washington, D.C, Newark, Birmingham (UK), Chicago, London (Heathrow), Paris (CDG), Madrid, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Frankfurt, Colombo, Dhaka, Kabul, Kathmandu, Yangon, Male, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo (Narita), Osaka, San Francisco, Sydney and Melbourne. Gulf destinations include Abu Dhabi, Damman, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Riyadh and Sharjah. Air India resumed direct flights from Ahmedabad to London/Heathrow and Newark (via London).
Air India Express Air India Express, Air India's low-cost carrier subsidiary flies to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Bahrain, Damman, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Salalah, Sharjah and Singapore from various Indian destinations.
Jet Airways Jet Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Tiruchirappalli, Bahrain to Mumbai, Bangkok to Delhi, Mumbai, Amsterdam to Delhi, Mumbai, and Toronto, Colombo to Mumbai and Bengaluru, Damman to Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, Dhaka to Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, Doha to Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, Dubai to Delhi, Kochi, Mangalore, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, Hong Kong to Delhi and Mumbai, Jeddah to Mumbai, Kathmandu to Delhi, Mumbai and Varanasi, Kuwait to Mumbai, London (Heathrow) to Delhi and Mumbai, Muscat to Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, Paris (CDG) to Mumbai, Riyadh to Mumbai, Singapore to Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi.
Indigo Indigo flies to five regional destinations including Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Kathmandu, Bangkok and Singapore.
SpiceJet SpiceJet flies to regional destinations including Muscat, Dubai, Kabul, Kathmandu, Bangkok, Dhaka, Colombo and Malé.

International Air Routes to India - Overseas Airline Operators

From North America

United Airlines United flies daily from Newark to both Delhi and Mumbai.
Air Canada Air Canada operates a 4xweekly nonstop service between Toronto and Delhi using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, a seasonal 3xweekly service from Vancouver to Delhi and a 3xweekly nonstop flight from Toronto to Mumbai.

From Europe

Aeroflot - Russian Int'l Airline Aeroflot flies 2xdaily from Moscow (Sheremetyevo) to Delhi.
Air France Air France flies from Paris CDG to Delhi (daily), Mumbai (daily) and Bengaluru (6xweekly).
British Airways British Airways flies from London to Bengaluru (daily), Chennai (daily), Delhi (2xdaily), Mumbai (2xdaily incl. a daily Boeing 787-9 service) and Hyderabad (daily).
Brussels Airlines Brussels Airlines operates a new 5xweekly nonstop service between Brussels and Mumbai.
Finnair Finnair operates a 3xweekly nonstop service between Helsinki and Delhi.
KLM KLM flies daily from Amsterdam to Delhi.
Lufthansa Lufthansa flies daily from Frankfurt to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi (Airbus A380), Mumbai and 6xweekly to Pune (operated by PrivatAir with a stop at Bucharest). Lufthansa also offers daily flights from Munich to both Delhi and Mumbai (Airbus A350). Lufthansa also uses Airbus A350 equipment on the Munich-Delhi sector, the airline's inaugural route for this aircraft type.
Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International flies daily from Zurich to both Mumbai and Delhi.
Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic flies daily from London to Delhi.

From CIS Countries

Air Astana Air Astana flies daily from Almaty to Delhi. A new 3xweekly service linking Astana with Delhi will commence on July 2nd.
Air Manas Air Manas flies 3xweekly from Bishkek to Delhi.
Tajik Air Tajik Air flies 1xweekly from Dushanbe to Delhi.
Turkmenistan Airlines Turkmenistan flies 5xweekly from Ashgabat to Amritsar and 3xweekly to Delhi.
Uzbekistan Airways Uzbekistan Airways serves Delhi 4xweekly and Amritsar 2xweekly from Tashkent. Two of these flights are combined services to both Amritsar and Delhi.

From Central and West Asia

Air Arabia Air Arabia flies 2xdaily from Sharjah to Delhi, Kochi and Mumbai, daily to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Jaipur and Chennai, 2xdaily to Thiruvananthapuram, 4xweekly to Nagpur and 5xweekly to both Coimbatore and Goa.
Ariana Afghan Airlines Ariana Afghan Airlines operates a weekly flight from Kabul (via Kandahar) to Delhi.
Bahrain Air This low-cost Bahrain based airline flies 4xweekly from Bahrain to both Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram and 5xweekly to both Kochi and Kozhikode.
El Al El Al flies 4xweekly from Tel Aviv to Mumbai.
Emirates Emirates flies 3xdaily from Dubai to Chennai, 4xdaily to Delhi, 3xdaily to Hyderabad, 2xdaily to Kochi, 5xdaily (incl. 1 daily A380) to Mumbai, 11xweekly to Thiruvananthapuram, 2xdaily to Kolkata, 3xdaily to Bengaluru and 10xweekly to Ahmedabad. Emirates currently operates upto 190 weekly flights (more than any other overseas airline) between Dubai and 9 destinations in India.
Etihad Airways Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Bengaluru (2xdaily), Chennai (3xdaily), Mumbai (3xdaily, incl. a daily A380 service), Delhi (3xdaily), Thiruvananthapuram (2xdaily), Hyderabad (3xdaily), Kochi (3xdaily), Kozhikode (4xdaily), Kolkata (daily), Ahmedabad (daily) and Jaipur (daily). Etihad carried 666 000 passengers on its India services during the last quarter of 2016. The carrier operates a total of 194 weekly flights to 11 destinations in India.
Flydubai flydubai, a low-cost carrier based in Dubai, offers flights from Dubai to Ahmedabad (2xweekly), Delhi (5xweekly), Chennai (3xweekly), Hyderabad (5xweekly), Lucknow (3xweekly), Thiruvananthapuram (3xweekly), Kochi (4xweekly) and Mumbai (5xweekly).
Gulf Air Gulf Air flies from Bahrain to Chennai (10xweekly), Delhi (2xdaily), Hyderabad (9xweekly), Kochi (daily), Mumbai (2xdaily) and Thiruvananthapuram (daily).
Iran Air Iran Air flies 2xweekly from Tehran to Mumbai.
Iraqi Airways Iraqi Airways flies 2xweekly from Baghdad (1xweekly via Basra) to Delhi and 1/2xweekly from Najaf and Baghdad to Mumbai.
Jazeera Airways Jazeera Airways, a low cost carrier based in Kuwait, flies from Kuwait to Mumbai (2xdaily), Delhi (3xweekly) and Kochi (3xweekly).
Kam Air Kam Air, a private Afghan airline, operates a daily service from Kabul to Delhi.
Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways flies from Kuwait to Bengaluru (5xweekly), Mumbai (daily), Kochi (daily), Chennai (4xweekly), Thiruvananthapuram (6xweekly), Delhi (12xweekly) and Ahmedabad (5xweekly).
Mahan Air Mahan Air flies 3xweekly from Tehran to Delhi and 1xweekly from Mashad to Delhi.
Oman Air Oman Air flies from Muscat to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Oman Air also flies daily from Salalah to Kozhikode.
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways flies daily from Doha to Ahmedabad, Delhi (2xdaily), Chennai (daily), Mumbai (daily), Kolkata (daily), Nagpur (daily), Thiruvananthapuram (daily), Hyderabad (daily), Kochi (11xweekly), daily to Kozhikode, Amritsar (daily), Goa (daily) and daily to Bengaluru.
Safi Airways Safi Airways flies 4xweekly from Kabul to Delhi.
Saudi Arabian Airlines Saudi Arabian Airlines flies from Riyadh to Delhi (6xweekly), Bengaluru (2xweekly), Mumbai (daily), Chennai (3xweekly), Kochi (6xweekly), Hyderabad (3xweekly) and Lucknow (3xweekly) - from Jeddah to Delhi (daily), Mumbai (10xweekly), Chennai (3xweekly), Kochi (9xweekly), Hyderabad (3xweekly), Bengaluru (1xweekly) and Lucknow (4xweekly) - from Damman to Chennai (1xweekly), Kochi (1xweekly), Bengaluru (1xweekly)
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines flies daily from Istanbul to both Delhi and Mumbai.

From Africa

Air Austral Air Austral connects Chennai 2xweekly with Saint Denis (Réunion) and Bangkok.
Air Mauritius Air Mauritius flies from Mauritius to Bengaluru/Chennai (2xweekly), Delhi (2xweekly) and Mumbai (4/5 weekly).
Air Seychelles Air Seychelles serves Mumbai 5xweekly from Mahe.
Egypt Air EgyptAir flies 4xweekly from from Cairo to Mumbai.
Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines flies 2xdaily from Addis Ababa to Mumbai and 2xdaily to Delhi.
Kenya Airways Kenya Airways flies 12xweekly from Nairobi to Mumbai.
RwandAir RwandAir operates a 4xweekly nonstop air service from Kigali to Mumbai served by Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

From South Asia

Bhutan Airlines Bhutan Airlines flies daily from Paro and Bangkok to Kolkata and 3xweekly from Paro to Delhi via Kathmandu.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines flies 12xweekly from Dhaka to Kolkata and 2xweekly from Chittagong to Kolkata.
Druk Air Druk Air (Royal Bhutan Airlines), Bhutan's national airline, flies from Paro to Guwahati, Delhi, Kolkata, Gaya, Bagdogra and Mumbai.
Maldivian Maldivian flies 6xweekly from Malé International Airport to Thiruvananthapuram and 3xweekly to Chennai (and onwards to Dhaka) and 1xweekly from Hanimadhoo to Thiruvananthapuram.
Mega Maldives Airlines Mega Maldives Airlines flies 3xweekly from Malé International Airport to Delhi.
Myanmar Airways International MAI flies 3xweekly (seasonal) from Yangon to Gaya and 2xweekly to Kolkata.
Nepal Airlines Nepal Airlines flies 2xdaily from Kathmandu to Delhi and 3xweekly to both Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Novoair Novoair operates a 4xweekly service from Kolkata to Dhaka and 3xweekly service to Chittagong.
Regent Airways Regent Airways flies daily from both Dhaka and Chittagong to Kolkata.
SriLankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines flies 11xweekly from Colombo to Bengaluru, Gaya (seasonal), Chennai (20xweekly), Delhi (daily, 11xweekly wef Jul 17), Kochi (2xdaily), Kolkata (3xweekly), Madurai (1xweekly), Mumbai (daily), Tiruchirapalli (2xdaily), Thiruvananthapuram (daily) and Varanasi (2xweekly). New routes include Colombo to Hyderabad (4xweekly), Visakhapatnam (4xweekly) and Coimbatore (4xweekly wef Jul 16).
US-Bangla Airlines US-Bangla Airlines flies daily from both Dhaka (daily) and Chittagong (2xweekly) to Kolkata.

From the Far East, Southeast Asia and Australasia

Air Asia Air Asia flies Kuala Lumpur to the following Indian destinations: Bengaluru (4xweekly), Bhubaneswar (4xweekly), Chennai (2xdaily), Hyderabad (daily), Kochi (2xdaily), Kolkata (daily), Tiruchirappalli (4xdaily) and Visakhapatnam (3xweekly). Thai Air Asia flies 5xweekly from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Chennai, daily to Kochi, 5xweekly to Bengaluru, daily to Kolkata and daily to Tiruchirapalli (wef Aug 12). Air Asia X flies 4xweekly from Kuala Lumpur to Delhi.
Air Asia X Indonesia Air Asia X Indonesia, affiliated with AirAsia is a low-cost long-haul carrier, provides a direct daily Airbus A330 air service from Denpasar Bali to Mumbai via Kuala Lumpur.
Air China Air China flies 5xweekly from Beijing to Delhi and 4xweekly to Mumbai.
All Nippon Airways All Nippon Airways (ANA) operates daily services from Tokyo Narita airport to both Delhi and Mumbai.
Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines flies daily from Seoul's Incheon International airport to Delhi.
Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways flies daily from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) to Mumbai.
Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific flies 2xdaily from Hong Kong to Delhi, 10xweekly to Mumbai, daily to Chennai and 4xweekly from Hong Kong to Hyderabad.
China Airlines China Airlines flies 2xweekly from Taipei to Delhi.
China Eastern Airlines China Eastern flies daily from Shanghai/Beijing to Delhi and daily from Hangzhou via Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province to Kolkata.
China Southern China Southern, China's largest airline, flies twice daily from Guangzhou (Canton) to Delhi.
Dragonair Cathay Dragon flies daily from Hong Kong to Bengaluru and 6xweekly to Kolkata.
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia has re-introduced a service to India after a lapse of 30 years. The airline connects Jakarta with Mumbai via Bangkok 3xweekly.
Japan Airlines Japan Airlines operates a daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner service from Tokyo Narita to Delhi.
Korean Air Korean Air flies thrice weekly from Seoul/Incheon airport to Mumbai and 5xweekly to Delhi.
Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines flies from Kuala Lumpur to Bengaluru (12xweekly), Chennai (2xdaily), Delhi (10xweekly), Hyderabad (daily) and Mumbai (2xdaily).
Malindo Air Malindo Air flies from Kuala Lumpur to Amritsar (5xweekly), Delhi (11xweekly), Kochi (7xweekly), Mumbai (8xweekly), Thiruvananthapuram (4xweekly) and Tiruchirappalli (21xweekly). In addition Penang is connected with Tiruchirappalli 2xweekly.
Scoot Singapore Airlines owned Scoot operates a daily service to Chennai from Singapore using Boeing 787 equipment.
Silk Air Silk Air flies from Singapore to Chennai (4xweekly), Bengaluru (5xweekly), Kolkata (3xweekly), Thiruvananthapuram (5xweekly), Kochi (10xweekly), Hyderabad (10xweekly), 5xweekly to Coimbatore and 3xweekly to Visakhapatnam.
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines flies 4xweekly from Singapore to Ahmedabad, daily to Bengaluru, Chennai, 2xdaily (incl. 1 daily A380) to Delhi, 4xweekly to Kolkata and 2xdaily (incl. 1 daily A380 and 1 daily A350) to Mumbai.
Thai Airways Thai Airways flies from Bangkok to Bengaluru (daily), Kolkata (daily), Chennai (daily), Delhi (19xweekly), Mumbai (daily) and Hyderabad (5xweekly).
Thai Smile Air Thai Smile Air flies from Bangkok to 3xweekly to Gaya (via Varanasi), 3xweekly to Jaipur, 3xweekly to Lucknow and 3xweekly to Varanasi.
Tigerair Tigerair flies from Singapore to 4xweekly to Amritsar, Bengaluru (daily), Hyderabad (6xweekly), Jaipur (4xweekly), Kochi (4xweekly), Lucknow (3xweekly) and Tiruchirapalli (2xdaily).

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