Air India To Double Number Of Flights Amid Fall Season Admission
- ByStartupStory | July 31, 2021
Air India has announced that it will double its international flights to the US to meet the demands of students flying for foreign education. Compared to the approximate 40 flights Air India used to operate to the USA before the Presidential proclamation, it could operate 11 flights per week to the USA in July, 2021. The frequency is being increased to 22 from 7th August 2021. Travel restrictions imposed by the United States, in addition to a curb on Indian travelers to the UAE, had led to a situation where students travelling to the US found themselves with significantly fewer travel options and inflated ticket prices. India and China are the top two countries from where student visas are issued for the US.
In a tweet, the flag carrier said: “Air India will operate additional flights between New Delhi & Newark on 6th,13th, 20th & 27th August ‘21. These are in addition to the existing flights operating on this sector”. In addition to Air India, American carriers United and Delta also fly between the two nations. In the US, Air India operates flights to New York (John F Kennedy), Newark, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco. Following the US travel ban order, Air India had to cancel several of its flights. Air India official said, “Because of the curtailed schedule, we had to reschedule the passengers in a staggered manner leading to some passengers getting reschedules that were almost a month after their original flight. Further adding that the situation is expected to be better in August.”
Sector trackers, however, pointed out that not all students may be able to join the fall semester on time due to the curtailed flight schedules. “With flight shortages and visa delays, many students who had planned to join US universities this fall, may not be able to join them on time. While the US government is allowing students to enter the country 30 days prior to the start of their studies, there is a shortage of flights to the country, which has led to a decline in seats and rise in ticket prices,” EaseMyTrip CEO Nishant Pitti said. “In fact, we are expecting an unprecedented surge of students travelling in the second half of this year as many of them have deferred their courses and study plans by a year,” he further added.
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