Air India to add inbound hub-and-spoke connections to Amritsar via Delhi
Air India plans to launch inbound Easy Connect services to Amritsar within two months, enabling international passengers to clear immigration and collect baggage there. The carrier is also extending its hub-and-spoke network through new connections from Amritsar and planned rollouts in Ahmedabad, Goa and Kochi.
What happened
Air India will introduce inbound Easy Connect hub-and-spoke flights to Amritsar via Delhi within two months, allowing passengers to complete immigration and
Key facts
- Air India Group operates around 900 weekly flights
- Air India operates around 500 weekly services
- 4 hub airports and 40 spoke airports are planned
- Nearly 25 million passengers travel long-haul to and from India annually
- Close to 20 million are connecting travellers
- About 17 million connecting travellers currently transit through overseas hubs
Why this matters
Air India’s planned extensions to Ahmedabad, Goa and Kochi create partnership opportunities for airport operators, ground handlers, travel retailers and destination-service providers.
What to watch
- Formal launch date and eligible origin countries or Air India international flights included in Easy Connect.
- Published minimum connection times, through-check baggage rules and whether passengers need transit documentation at Delhi.
- Customs and immigration staffing capacity at Amritsar, especially during peak international arrival banks.
- Changes in Delhi-Amritsar frequency, aircraft gauge, departure timing and through-fare availability.
- Load factors and international passenger growth at Amritsar after launch.
- Confirmation of rollout dates and operating models for Ahmedabad, Goa and Kochi.
- Competitive responses from IndiGo, foreign carriers and other Indian airport hubs.
- Launch Amritsar Easy Connect within the stated two-month window, with immigration, customs and baggage-handling processes coordinated across Delhi and Amritsar.
- Add or retime Delhi-Amritsar domestic sectors to create banked connections with Air India's long-haul arrivals.
- Market through-fares to Punjab-origin diaspora markets, religious travelers and inbound tour operators.
- Pilot comparable inbound connection workflows at Ahmedabad, Goa and Kochi after evaluating Amritsar transfer performance.
- Expand airport-side retail, foreign-exchange, ground-transport and hotel partnerships around higher international-arrival volumes in Amritsar.