Indian and Russian air carriers are introducing new services from Mumbai and Delhi to Moscow, Business Standard reports.
Aeroflot and Ural Airlines plan to launch Moscow-Mumbai services in their summer schedules, while Kazakhstan’s Air Astana will begin four weekly flights between Almaty and Mumbai increasing connectivity to Central Asia as well, the website writes, adding that by July, Mumbai airport will have eighteen weekly flights to Russia and Central Asian countries.
IndiGo and Vistara, too, are planning flights between Delhi and Moscow to tap growth in trade and tourism. “We do plan to start flights to Russia sometime during the course of this year. The exact timelines are yet to be finalized,” IndiGo said in a statement. “We will be sharing details about our new international destinations at an appropriate time,” a Vistara spokesperson said.
The new flights come against the backdrop of the Indian government’s move to boost air connectivity with Central Asia and tap the interest of Russian investors in India. Russian companies and government-backed funds have shown interest in the high-speed rail projects in Gujarat and the revival of Jet Airways.
Around 450,000 people flew between India and Russia in twelve months ending December 2019, a growth of around ten percent over the previous year. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have seen 24 and 50 percent year on year growth in passengers to/from India, respectively. Tajikistan’s Somon Air which launched two weekly flights to Delhi last December sees a lot of tourist and student traffic from India.
