Air India opens booking for Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 26

Thousands of Canada-bound passengers from the Doaba region are set to benefit as Air India has finally started the booking for its much-awaited thrice-a-week Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight.

The maiden Toronto-bound flight from Amritsar will fly on September 27— coinciding with World Tourism Day. The Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flights will improve the air connectivity between Amritsar and Toronto — a long-pending demand of people of Punjab, particularly of the Doaba region. The Delhi-Toronto leg of the journey will take about 16 hours.

Thousands of people hailing from this NRI belt are settled in Canada. Since the people had to travel all the way to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi, for boarding the flights, they were demanding the resumption of the once popular and direct Amritsar- Birmingham-Toronto flight, which suddenly came to a grinding halt in 2008.

“The booking for the new Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flights has begun and we have formally sounded all our agents about the commencement of its operations from September 27. The flight will be taking extra time for we will have no option but to avoid Pakistan’s air space. The one-way introductory fare for an economy seat will be Rs 50,890 while the round-fare for the same seat will be Rs 92,737,” said RK Negi, manager, Air India, Punjab.

The passengers from Amritsar to Delhi will travel in Airbus-321 and they will have the option to board one of the two evening flights taking off from Amritsar thrice a week for a 45-minute journey to Delhi at 7 pm and 7.50 pm. At Delhi, they will board a Boeing-777 airplane, which will leave for Toronto at 3 am.

“The immigration, security check-in and customs clearances will be done at Amritsar,” said RK Negi. The passengers will have baggage allowance of two 23-kg suitcases plus one standard handbag at par with most of the international flights.

“Our flights will cater to the emerging needs of Punjab people who have been demanding the start of a direct flight to Toronto from Amritsar. Moreover, the frequency of the flights can be increased depending upon the response of the people,” Negi added.

Cheap fare, thrice-a-week service 

• The maiden Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight to take off on September 27 

• It will fly to Toronto three days in a week. The Delhi-Toronto leg of journey will take 16 hours

• One-way economy class ticket will cost Rs 50,890 while the round-fare for the same seat will be Rs 92,737