Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) has become the first airport in South India to operate a non-stop flight to the United States. This happened with the landing of Air India flight 176 from San Francisco (SFO) on January 11, 0307 hours.
The flight, which will operate twice weekly to start, is Air India’s longest route in its network at approximately14,000 km (8,698 miles) and the longest flight to and from India (approximately 16 hours). Despite the current pandemic environment, the maiden flight from SFO was booked to capacity in all classes. This route is also one of the top 10 longest routes in the World, in terms of distance flown.
"It is a historic day for us at BLR Airport as we now a have non-stop route that connects two cities renowned for their technology prowess across the world," said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). He further added, "This fulfils a long pending demand of Bangaloreans and I am confident that this new route will further transform BLR by connecting people and businesses. At BIAL, we will continue to explore new routes that connect Bengaluru to key destinations across the world."
The start of this non-stop route marks a significant milestone for BLR Airport as it becomes the first city in South India to connect with the United States.With Air India being a Star Alliance Member, convenient connections would be offered to passengers travelling onward. Hence, with the introduction of BLR-SFO flight, traffic flows will not be limited to only SFO, but to the surrounding regions as well.