A few weeks of all the major no-frill Indian carriers going after the Middle-Eastern markets. There has been good reason for it. While the Middle East is teeming with Indian Diaspora and flight launches into the Middle East are no big deal, most of the landscape has been settled for a while—IndiGo and Air India (group) and then everyone else.

However, with the arrival of Akasa on the scene and their recent approval to go international, they’ve shaken the apple cart, trying to launch as many sectors into the Middle East as they can lay their hands on, given that this is a market which has enough of O&D traffic going around as well. IndiGo and Air India Express have been adding additional flights at a fast clip, with a contest amongst all three to corner as many seats as possible from the remaining rights to fly between the countries. Let’s look at where Akasa is flying now after the launch of flights to Doha earlier this year.

Akasa launches flights between Mumbai and Riyadh on June 15, 2024

Akasa Air commenced operations in Riyadh, connecting it to Mumbai with daily direct flights. The inaugural flight departed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on June 15, 2024. Riyadh is the first destination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the second international destination to be included in Akasa Air’s network. Here is the daily flight schedule.

Akasa launches flights between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi on July 11, 2024

Akasa Air commenced operations in Abu Dhabi, connecting it to Mumbai with direct daily flights. The inaugural flight departed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on July 11, 2024. With the Dubai bilaterals full from the Indian side, Abu Dhabi is Akasa Air’s first destination in the UAE. Here is the daily flight schedule.

Akasa launches flights between Mumbai and Jeddah on July 15, 2024

Akasa Air commenced operations in Jeddah, connecting it with Mumbai and Ahmedabad with direct flights. The inaugural flight departed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on July 15, 2024. As of July 21, 2024, Akasa Air added a second flight, which operates five times a week between Mumbai and Jeddah. 

The launch of operations from Mumbai was followed by the commencement of two weekly direct flights connecting Jeddah with Ahmedabad, effective July 20, 2024.  Here is the daily flight schedule. 

 Here is a summary of the Akasa network at the moment. 

Among all these launches, we should also see the launch of flights into Kuwait sometime soon, given that Akasa currently holds rights to that destination. 

Bottomline

Akasa, which will complete two years of launch in August 2024, became the only carrier to launch international operations 19 months after its domestic operations. The airline is now in four cities in the Middle East: Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi, with Kuwait operations on the horizon as well.

What do you think of Akasa’s international growth? 

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.