SIA's direct flight to A'bad from July 28

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will start direct services from Ahmedabad from July 28 this year, provided it receives necessary government approval. The airline recently concluded its feasibility study of starting services.

The airlines company will have a thrice-weekly B777 service to Ahmedabad. The flight SQ462 will depart from Singapore every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 2 am (Singapore time) and arrive in Ahmedabad at 4.45 am same morning. The return flight SQ461 will depart from Ahmedabad at 6 am and arrive in Singapore at 2 pm (Singapore time).

"The decision to start operations from Ahmedabad was taken after considering the fact that Ahmedabad, being the seventh largest city in India, is also the commercial and cultural centre of Gujarat.

Conveniently located between North and South India, the city is well-linked with the rest of the country through a comprehensive air, road and rail network," a Singapore Airlines official said.

"Ahmedabad is famous for its textile mills and is often referred to as Manchester of the East. It is also known for its flourishing diamond industry. The city is gaining a reputation as a software development centre. It has a rich and varied legacy as can be assessed by its numerous ancient mosques, tombs, temples and forts. Other places of interest in Ahmedabad are the Gandhi Ashram, the Calico Museum of Textiles and the old seaport of Cambay, making the city an important destination for tourism," stated the official.

"The airfare and other details have not been chalked yet. These are expected to be finalised within a fortnight from now," he stated.

With the launch of the new service in Ahmedabad, Singapore Airlines will be serving six Indian destinations including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore.

Singapore Airlines has already increased its non stop services to Mumbai from 10 to 12 flights a week from March 28 this year. This brings the total number of non-stop weekly services to India to 31. This will rise to 34 with the start of the direct Ahmedabad services.

As India has extended the 'Limited Open Sky Policy' till end of April this year, Singapore Airlines will launch its fourth weekly service to Bangalore, third service to Kolkata, and two supplementary flights to Delhi during the month.

Recently, Air India commenced its first direct flight services to London from Ahmedabad. A few more international airliners are also readying to enter into Gujarat.