Air India announces new flights to Maldives, Malaysia

Air India has announced new additional flights connecting Indian cities with two popular destinations, Maldives and Malaysia, as the countries eased travel restrictions with India. As part of the Vande Bharat mission, Air India will operate flights from Delhi to Malé via Mumbai every Wednesday and Saturday, starting from July 28. The airline will also fly from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to Malé every Monday and Thursday, starting from July 29. The Maldives reopened its borders for travellers from south Asian countries such as India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, from July 15, 2021. Meanwhile, Air India Express, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, has announced flights between India and Kuala Lumpur from August. The airline will connect Trichy, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Chennai with Kuala Lumpur. Bookings for these flights are open in Air India’s website and call centres. Ticket prices: Flights between Mumbai and Malé start at ?16,953 for the economy and ?53,334 for business class, while flights between Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur start at ?23,243 for August. Recently, Air India had also announced several international flights to Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Commercial international flights in India, however, are still banned till August 31.