Air India has expanded its Easy Connect programme with the launch of two daily connecting services from Amritsar, giving travellers across Punjab easier access to 27 international destinations through the airline’s hub in Delhi.
The new service forms part of the Government of India’s hub-and-spoke aviation strategy, which aims to route more international passengers through Indian airports instead of overseas transit hubs.
Passengers using Easy Connect can complete check-in to their final destination at Amritsar, clear immigration before departure and transfer through Delhi without collecting baggage or changing terminals.
Seamless Connections to North America, Europe and Australia
The programme introduces two dedicated daily flights between Amritsar and Delhi.
The morning service is timed to connect with departures to destinations across Europe, including London Heathrow, Birmingham, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich, Rome, Milan, Copenhagen and Vienna, as well as selected cities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
An evening departure provides onward connections to North America and Australia, including New York, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Melbourne and Sydney, together with destinations such as Singapore, Dubai, Phuket and Bali.
In total, the new service provides connections to 27 international destinations within four hours of arriving in Delhi.
Supporting India’s Hub-and-Spoke Strategy
The launch marks the next stage of a nationwide rollout announced earlier this year.
Air India said it will also become the first Indian airline to implement the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s standard operating procedure for inbound hub-and-spoke operations, allowing international passengers arriving in Delhi to connect seamlessly to Amritsar. That service is expected to begin within the next two months.
Additional Easy Connect services are planned from Ahmedabad, Goa, Kochi and several other Indian cities in the coming weeks.
Shifting International Transit to Indian Airports
According to Air India, nearly 25 million passengers travel on long-haul routes to and from India each year, with around 20 million requiring a connecting flight.
The airline estimates that approximately 85% of those passengers currently connect through overseas hubs rather than Indian airports.
The Easy Connect initiative is designed to redirect more of that traffic through Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, reducing travel complexity while strengthening India’s role as an international aviation hub.
Bookings for Easy Connect services are available through Air India’s website, mobile app, contact centre and travel agents.
