New Delhi, 28 March, 2023: Air India, India’s leading airline and a Star Alliance member, today inaugurated non-stop flights between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick, the UK’s second-largest airport.
The Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Jyotiraditya M. Scindia flagged off the inaugural flight in a virtual ceremony. Cabinet Minister of Civil Aviation, Gujarat, Mr Balvantsinh Rajput attended the event along with Secretary, Civil Aviation Mr Rajiv Bansal and Air India MD & CEO Mr Campbell Wilson. Dignitaries and senior executives at Ahmedabad Airport were also present on the occasion.
The inaugural flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick departed on time at 1150 hrs, scheduled to arrive at London Gatwick at 1640 hrs (local time) today.
At the inauguration of the non-stop flights, Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, said, “Today marks an important day for Ahmedabad and Gujarat, as India’s flag bearer airline, Air India, commences its direct flight from Ahmedabad, Manchester of the East, to London Gatwick. The introduction of this route will open more business avenues and further strengthen investment opportunities between the two nations. On this occasion, I would like to congratulate the entire Air India team for re-envisioning the dream of the legendary JRD Tata of making Air India a premier airline globally.”
Mr. Campbell Wilson, MD & CEO, Air India, said, “As part of our five-year transformation plan, Vihaan.AI, we aim to grow our domestic and global network significantly to improve India’s connectivity with the rest of the world. We are delighted to launch services from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, which will continue to boost trade and tourism between the two nations and help a large number of people from the Indian diaspora stay just a flight away from Gujarat.”
It is estimated that over 8,00,000 Gujaratis call the UK their home, making the Gujarati diaspora in the UK to be, arguably, the largest in the world.
The flights between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick will be operated three times a week using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 18 Business Class and 238 Economy Class seats.
This week, in addition to flights from Ahmedabad, Air India has also launched non-stop flights to London Gatwick from Amritsar, Goa, and Kochi while increasing the frequency to London Heathrow from Delhi and Mumbai. In total, the airline now operates 49 flights per week between India and the UK, including six flights a week to Birmingham from Delhi and Amritsar.
Schedule of flights between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick:
| Flight Number | From | To | Departure | Arrival | Days of Operation |
| AI171 | Ahmedabad | London Gatwick | 1150 | 1640 | Tue, Thu, Sat |
| AI172 | London Gatwick | Ahmedabad | 2000 | 0850 (+1) | Wed, Fri, Sun |
About Air India:
Founded by the legendary JRD Tata, Air India pioneered India’s aviation sector. Since its first flight on October 15, 1932, Air India has an extensive domestic network and has spread its wings beyond to become a major international airline with a network across USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Far-East, South-East Asia, Australia and the Gulf. Air India is a member of Star Alliance, the largest global airline consortium. After 69 years as a Government-owned enterprise, Air India and Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata group in January 2022. The present management at Air India is driving the five year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI to establish itself as a world-class global airline with an Indian heart.
Vihaan.AI is Air India’s transformational roadmap over five years with clear milestones. It will be focussing on dramatically growing both its network and fleet, developing a completely revamped customer proposition, improving reliability and on-time performance. The airline will also be taking a leadership position in technology, sustainability, and innovation, while aggressively investing in the best industry talent. Vihaan.AI is aimed at putting Air India on a path to sustained growth, profitability and market leadership.
About the Tata Group:
Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising 30 companies across ten verticals. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission ‘To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust’.
Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies. Sixty-six percent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts, which support education, health, livelihood generation, and art and culture. In 2020-21, the revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $103 billion (INR 7.7 trillion). These companies collectively employ over 800,000 people. Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors. There are 29 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of $314 billion (INR 23.4 trillion) as on December 31, 2021. Companies include Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals, Tata Consumer Products, Titan, Tata Capital, Tata Power, Tata Communications, Indian Hotels, Tata Digital and Tata Electronics.