SpiceJet to connect Delhi, Mumbai with London Heathrow from Dec 2020
SpiceJet had initially secured slots at the London Heathrow Airport from September 1 to October 23, 2020. Heathrow Airport had later extended the slots allotted to SpiceJet for the entire winter schedule.
SpiceJet will launch non-stop flights connecting the key metros of Delhi and Mumbai with London’s Heathrow airport starting December 4th, 2020 thus becoming the first Indian low-cost airline to operate flights to UK. These flights will operate under the air bubble agreement with UK.
The airline will operate thrice-a-week to London including twice from Delhi and once-a-week from Mumbai. SpiceJet will use an Airbus A330-900 Neo aircraft for these flights. The 371-seater twin-aisle A330 has a configuration of 353 economy and 18 business class seats.
Designated as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate to the United Kingdom and the United States of America, SpiceJet had initially secured slots at the London Heathrow Airport from September 1 to October 23, 2020. Heathrow Airport had later extended the slots allotted to SpiceJet for the entire winter schedule.
Ajay Singh, chairman & managing director, SpiceJet said, “I am extremely pleased to share that SpiceJet will launch flights to London Heathrow Airport beginning December this year. This is a huge milestone for us and I am proud of the fact that SpiceJet will be the first Indian low-cost airline to operate non-stop long-haul flights to the UK. London is one of the busiest long-haul destinations from India and our convenient flight timings should suit the convenience of our passengers perfectly.”
He added, “While the last few months has been the worst-ever period for the global aviation industry battling the Covid-19 pandemic, I am proud of the determination and resolve shown by Team SpiceJet. From repatriating over 1.3 lakh Indian nationals from across the globe including Amsterdam, Toronto, Moscow, Rome and London to operating wide-body passenger and cargo flights to now starting flights to Heathrow, the last few months have been very significant for us. Providing non-stop connectivity from India to different parts of the world and strengthening our own airport hubs has been a long cherished dream and with our London operations we have taken a small step in that direction. We hope our passengers, both business and leisure, make the most of this opportunity of creating fond memories forever with us.”
The A330-900 Neo can easily fly non-stop from India to major destinations across the world like New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Johannesburg, São Paulo amongst others.
From Delhi, SpiceJet flight will depart at 1 pm (Local Time) on every Friday and Sunday and reach London at 5.30 pm (Local Time) on the same day. From Mumbai, the flight will depart on every Monday at 12.45 pm (Local Time) and will arrive in London at 5.30 pm (Local Time) on the same day. Flights from London to Delhi will depart on every Monday and Friday at 7.30 pm (Local Time) which will arrive in Delhi at 7.55 am (Local Time) on the next day. Flights from London to Mumbai will depart on every Sunday at 7.30 pm (Local Time) which will arrive in Mumbai at 8.45 am (Local Time) on the following day.
On August 20th, SpiceJet had operated its maiden long-haul charter flight from London’s Heathrow airport to repatriate 329 Indian and British nationals.
SpiceJet has played a key role in repatriating Indians and foreign nationals during these pandemic times. The airline has operated 800 charter and Vande Bharat flights to help repatriate close to 1.3 lakh stranded Indian citizens and foreign nationals to and from countries such as UK, Italy, Canada, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Maldives, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.
With the new flights, passengers from London will be able to easily travel to a host of other cities both on SpiceJet’s domestic network via multiple onward connections from Mumbai and Delhi.