Kolkata:

Starting December 27, low-cost carrier IndiGo will begin operating direct flights between Kolkata and Phuket, the airline said on Friday.

This will be IndiGo’s second direct flight to Phuket, following Delhi.

The new route will expand IndiGo’s global network and cater to the growing number of tourists from India to Thailand, the airline said in a statement.

“We are pleased to further expand our network into Thailand, from Kolkata, now adding a daily flight to Phuket in addition to the existing 11 weekly flights to Bangkok. With this new route, IndiGo will now operate 93 weekly flights between India and Thailand,” the statement quoted Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales at IndiGo, as saying.

“Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, is known for its serene beaches and cultural diversity, and the country’s visa-free policy for Indian citizens is expected to drive even greater demand. IndiGo remains committed to providing an affordable, on-time, courteous, and hassle-free travel experience across our extensive network,” he said.

According to the statement, the addition of this new route will enhance accessibility for tourists to Phuket from the eastern part of the country.

The route will strengthen trade, commerce and tourism between India and Southeast Asia. Kolkata, India’s first metropolitan city and a regional hub for Indian tourists, is rapidly enhancing its overall infrastructure to meet the growing demand for travel from the region to Southeast Asia, it said.

According to the airline statement, the Kolkata to Phuket flights will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

On Mondays Tuesdays and Fridays, flight 6E 1901, will depart from Kolkata at 6 am (IST) and reach Phuket at 10.40 am (local time), on Wednesdays and Saturdays the flight will take off from Kolkata at 6.50 am and reach Phuket at 11.35 am. On Sundays, the flight will leave at 6.50 am and land in Phuket at 11.40 am.

The return flight, 6E 1902, on Mondays and Tuesdays will leave Phuket at 11.40 am and reach Kolkata at 1.20 pm. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, it will take off from Phuket at 12.35 pm and reach Kolkata at 2.20 pm. On Fridays, it will leave Phuket at 11.55 am and land in Kolkata at 1.40 pm, while on Sundays the flight will take off from Phuket at 12.40 pm and land in Kolkata at 2.20 pm, the statement said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Over 100 New Delhi-bound passengers of an Air India flight have been stranded in Thailand’s Phuket for over 80 hours now after several delays due to technical faults, according to multiple posts put out by passengers on social media. NDTV has reached out to the airline for a response, but it is yet to get back.

According to the passengers, the flight was scheduled to take off for Delhi on the night of November 16. But the airline’s representatives informed the passengers of a six-hour delay due to a technical fault. The passengers allege that after being made to wait for hours at the airport, they were asked to board the plane, only to be deboarded an hour later. The flight was cancelled.

The passengers included elderly and children. The next the plane was prepped for a flight. The passengers say they were told that it was the same plane, but the fault had been fixed. The plane took off and about two-and-a-half hours after take-off, it landed back at Phuket and the passengers were again told that there was a technical fault . Since then, the passengers have been stuck at Phuket.