Air India’s recently released schedule mentions that the once a week Amritsar-Rome flight will start from September 8
The Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport Amritsar will soon be connected with its third destination in Europe, Rome, by Air India. The other two are: London Heathrow and Birmingham in the UK.
Air India’s recently released schedule mentions that the once a week Amritsar-Rome flight will start from September 8. The booking for the flights is open until October 28, which is the end of summer season in the airline industry.
Flight AI123 will take-off from Amritsar every Wednesday at 1555 hrs and arrive in Rome on same day at 2020 hrs local time. The return flight AI122 will then depart Rome on Thursday at 1900 hrs and reach Amritsar on Friday morning at 0535 hrs. Air India will operate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the route.
The flight has started at the initiative of Sameep Singh Gumtala, the Global Convener of the Fly Amritsar Initiative. He informed that the resumption of the flight had come after the decision by Italy’s government to relax restrictions on passengers arriving from India.
The booking for the flights is open until October 28, which is the end of summer season in the airline industry
The flight will be a relief for thousands of Punjabis who have been stranded in India due to the decision by Italy’s government to ban direct flights in late April, 2021. They had no other option, except to pay very high fares to travel via other countries on regular or charter flights and complete quarantine requirements during the transit.
Incidentally, the operation of the flights to European destinations will give the Amritsar airport a big boost. Yogesh Kamra, Convener (India) of the FlyAmritsar Initiative and Secretary of Amritsar Vikas Manch (NGO) speaking to news agency UNI said that “Amritsar is currently India’s only airport which is directly connected with two airports in the UK. With the resumption of the Rome flight, it will be the only airport in India after Delhi to be directly connected with a total of three destinations in Europe by the Indian national carrier.”
“We are thankful to Air India and Ministry of Civil Aviation for resuming flights to UK (London and Birmingham) and Italy (Rome). With millions of Punjabi diaspora in the UK as well as Europe, these flights will be the shortest connection for Punjabis from one home to another. The success of these flights strengthens the justification of our demand for direct international flights from Amritsar to other countries including Toronto and Vancouver in Canada,” he said.
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