The arrangement is intended to streamline international travel from non-metro cities while improving global connectivity | Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ B

Tata Group-promoted Air India will commence operations under the Centre’s hub-and-spoke aviation model from June 25, with Varanasi becoming the first spoke city to be connected to the airline’s international network through Delhi.

Accordingly, the airline on Tuesday opened bookings for the new services, branded as ‘Easy Connect’ flights.

These flights will allow passengers travelling from Varanasi to complete baggage check-in and international immigration formalities at their origin airport before connecting to overseas destinations via Delhi.

Air India said the launch marks the first operational rollout of the hub-and-spoke framework, under which passengers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities will be able to access international destinations through designated domestic hub airports without undergoing immigration and baggage processing during transit.

Under the model, travellers originating from Varanasi will check in through to their final international destination and transit through Delhi as international passengers.

First Flight

The arrangement is intended to streamline international travel from non-metro cities while improving global connectivity.

As per the airline, the designated spoke-to-hub service, flight AI1111, will operate daily between Varanasi and Delhi, departing at 09:50 hrs and arriving at 11:00 hrs.

Besides, the airline said that the service has been timed to provide onward connectivity within four hours to 18 international destinations from Delhi, including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Zurich, Vienna, Copenhagen, Manila, Singapore, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, Bangkok, Dubai, Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City and Kathmandu.

Furthermore, future hub-and-spoke services from additional spoke cities will operate under the AI11XX flight series, creating a distinct network identity for Air India’s Easy Connect operations as the airline expands the programme in phases over the coming months.

Model Implementation

Notably, businessline had reported last year that the Centre was examining a pilot project for seamless domestic-to-international travel under a hub-and-spoke framework, with Delhi and Varanasi emerging as the initial corridor under consideration.

Earlier this year, Centre released the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for hub-and-spoke operations, paving the way for implementation of the model. 

The SOP framework laid down procedures relating to passenger processing, baggage handling, immigration, customs and transit operations for seamless international connectivity through designated hub airports.

Published on June 9, 2026