Air India restores non-stop Delhi, Mumbai-New York flights; cuts travel time by 5 hours

Air India has restored non-stop flights on all four routes connecting Delhi and Mumbai with New York, cutting travel time by up to five hours. The move follows the easing of airspace restrictions that had forced the airline to introduce technical refuelling stops.

Flights that earlier took around 22 hours due to an intermediate stop in Rome will now take approximately 17 hours, the airline said on Sunday.

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Air India's long-haul operations had been affected by the closure of Pakistan's airspace to Indian carriers and subsequent restrictions over parts of the Middle East amid regional tensions. The airline had introduced technical halts in Rome on its services from Delhi and Mumbai to New York's John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to refuel.

With the easing of these restrictions, the airline has restored non-stop services across all four routes.

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Air India operates daily flights from both Delhi and Mumbai to JFK. It also runs four weekly services between Delhi and Newark and three weekly flights between Mumbai and Newark.

The airline is deploying its Airbus A350-900 aircraft on the Delhi-New York routes, including services to JFK and Newark. The aircraft has 28 Business Class suites, 24 Premium Economy seats and 264 Economy Class seats, along with upgraded in-flight entertainment systems.

Flights from Mumbai to the two New York airports will continue to be operated using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. These planes offer eight First Class suites, 40 Business Class seats with flat beds and 280 Economy Class seats.