New Delhi:
Air India on Thursday started direct flight service between Mumbai and San Francisco.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated it virtually from the national capital.
The first flight AI 179, from Mumbai to San Francisco, left Mumbai at 2.30 pm.
This flight service will be operated between Mumbai and San Francisco with Boeing 777-200LR aircraft three days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
More new flights are expected to start next year
The company plans to start flight services from Mumbai to New York, Frankfurt, and Paris early next year.
After inaugurating the flight service, Scindia said that the country’s civil aviation sector is on the cusp of change and growth.
He said that we need to move forward at a faster pace.
Plan to develop helipad in every taluka: Shinde
Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said the Mumbai-San Francisco service is an important step.
He said that by early 2023, non-stop flights from Mumbai to New York, Paris, and Frankfurt would be started.
Speaking on occasion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the state is working on airport expansion and plans to develop helipads in every taluka to increase air connectivity.
Wilson and Shinde attended the event from Mumbai, while Scindia and other officials were in the national capital.
