The first ever scheduled flights to India from London Stansted will take off later this month with the launch of Air India’s three-times a week service to Amritsar in the north west of the country.

Flights start on October 31st and will be the only direct service between London and Amritsar, operated by state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners offering business and economy classes.

London Stansted chief executive, Ken O’Toole, said: “It is fantastic news that there will be a direct non-stop connection to Amritsar, Punjab from London Stansted Airport with Air India.

“Stansted is ideally situated to serve the Asian community in north and east London and across the east of England, so we are delighted that Air India has recognised the customer demand for Amritsar.

“Our ambition is to use our spare runway capacity to build our long-haul route network and improve the UK’s connectivity with the rest of the world at a time when availability is in short supply across south-east airports.

“The welcome arrival of Air India is another positive step towards that goal.