GoAir announces expansion of services to United Arab Emirates

Budget carrier GoAir on Thursday announced expansion of its services to the UAE with launch of new flights to Sharjah from Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi and Kannur.

These flights will start from Friday.

Currently, flights to the UAE are operated under an Air Bubble Agreement since international commercial flights to and from India remain suspended from March 23 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

It has flights to Dubai in the UAE.

GoAir is commencing scheduled direct flights to and from Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, and Kannur to Sharjah under the Air Bubble Agreement effective January 1, it said in a release.

The flight schedule on India-Sharjah route is designed to provide convenience and flexibility to the passengers, it added.

"We have seen an enthusiastic response from our passengers travelling between India and the UAE, and there is immense pent-up demand on the said route. This has encouraged us to strengthen the network by adding these services between India and Sharjah," the airline's CEO Kaushik Khona said.

The airline is offering a special introductory return fare, starting at Rs 11,560 for the flights on IndiaSharjah sector.

Special international flights are being operated under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under 'Air Bubble Agreement' with select countries from July.

So far, India has such agreements with more than 22 countries.