DIRECT SERVICES TO THE GOLDEN TEMPLE 13 Oct 2004
Birmingham International Airport (BIA) has celebrated the launch of a new non-stop long haul charter service with specialist tour operator, Midland Airways. Travellers are now able to fly direct to Amritsar, the City of the Golden Temple, from Birmingham each Friday. This service will increase to two flights per week before the end of the month and will see a third weekly departure in early December. The flights are operated by a new airline to Birmingham, Slovak Airlines, using a 215 seater 767-200 aircraft. Although the service is operated as a charter flight, passengers have a choice of two classes – economy (203 seats) and first class (12 seats). Prices start from £299 return.
Peter Vella, Birmingham International Airport’s Business Development Director said, “There has always been a very strong demand for direct services to Amritsar from Birmingham. This new operation is bound to be a welcome addition to our existing and thriving scheduled operation to the Indian sub-continent. We wish Midland Airways every success with this new venture.”
Surinder Sandhu of Midland Airways said, “We are very excited to start this new service from Birmingham Airport. Our operation offers new opportunities for people wanting to explore Amritsar and those wishing to visit friends and family. The fact that we are flying direct, provides more choice to the Midland’s Asian community.”
Currently, the weekly service departs from Birmingham each Friday at 21:00, arriving the next morning into Amritsar Airport at 09:30. The return flight leaves Amritsar on Sunday at 13:30 and arrives into Birmingham at 20:00 the same evening. These flight times will change as new frequencies are added.
Midland Airways’ services will complement BIA’s existing long haul route network, which includes twice daily services to New York, daily departures to Dubai, frequent operations to Ashgabat, Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Tashkent, Tehran and Abu Dhabi (from April 2005).
Last edited by Hawk; 17th Mar 2005 at 22:00.