Air India Express launches daily direct flight service between Mangaluru and Delhi

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) will offer residents of the coastal city and adjoining regions direct morning flights to national capital New Delhi from Saturday onwards.

The inaugural flight of Air India Express, (IX 1552), departed from MIA at 6.40 am and landed at New Delhi International Airport (DEL) at 9.35 am. The pairing flight, IX 2768, departed from New Delhi at 6.40 am and landed in Mangaluru at 9.35 am. Captain Vineet Kumar was the commander of the inaugural flight from New Delhi, along with his co-pilot and a four-member crew.

The inaugural Mangaluru-Delhi flight saw 167 passengers travel, while the flight from the national capital had 144 passengers travelling to the coastal city. Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) unit of MIA presented a water canon salute to the inaugural flight, much to the delight of passengers and AvGeeks.

The launch of this new flight comes on the heels of Air India Express introducing two weekend flights - every Saturday - from Mangaluru to Pune on January 4. This new flight to Delhi will fortify MIA’s emphasis on enabling business and leisure connectivity to passengers. With the introduction of this route, the Airport has now facilitated a second daily option, to go with the current evening flight (operated by IndiGo), for people to travel directly to Delhi.