Air India To Operate Direct Flights From Kochi to London Starting August 18

In a major relief to many Indian travelers, Cochin International Airport on Saturday announced that Indian national carrier Air India will start operating direct flights from Kochi to London starting from Wednesdays, 18th August 2021.

 The announcement comes after the United Kingdom moved India from the country’s ‘Red’ to “Amber” list, which means Indians can now travel to the United Kingdom without mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine.

Moreover, In a bid to attract more European carriers the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has decided to waive the parking and landing fee for carriers from Europe.

It is important to note that that Kochi is the only international airport in the state which offers direct flight connectivity to London.

As per the announcement by the flag carrier, it will deploy Dreamliner category aircraft to operate service on the London-Kochi-London sector.

Air India in a statement also said that the AI 150/149 aircraft will arrive in Kochi at 03.45 AM and will depart for London at 05.50 AM on Wednesdays.

“Connectivity to European countries has been a long-pending demand raised by the expats. We have waived parking and landing fees for the airlines operating direct services to London.”

“The CIAL believes that this gesture will give an impetus for our efforts to attract carriers from other parts of the world. We hope that within a year, we will be able to host more foreign airlines,” said CIAL Managing Director S Suhas.

Now that new flight services will start to London, thousands of expats stranded due to Covid-19 restrictions will be able to proceed to their destinations in India and the UK from August 18.

For the information of the travelers, the flight will take 10 hours from Kochi to arrive at Heathrow airport.

Guidelines For Passengers Traveling To UK

1. Passengers who are planning to travel must keep in mind the latest guidelines in the UK.
2. As per the guidelines, entering the UK from places on the amber list requires three Covid-19 tests the first, at least three days prior to departure; the second, on the day of arrival or before Day 2; and the third, on or after Day 8.
3. Home quarantine for 10 days is also mandatory for all.
4. For UK nationals who are fully vaccinated, neither quarantine nor the eighth-day test is required.
5. People who have been fully vaccinated in the United States and other European countries will not need to quarantine on arrival in England or take the eight-day test.

Also Read: IndiGo Resumes Flights To UAE, Announced Schedule For Dubai, Sharjah | All Details Here