02nd September 2025: Air India Express, India’s first international value carrier, has commenced direct flights from Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, connecting directly to Bengaluru, enhancing access from these cities to the country’s tech capital. The airline will operate twice daily services from Chandigarh and daily services from Ahmedabad, with the Ahmedabad-Bengaluru service increasing to twice daily from September 16, 2025, offering greater convenience for both business and leisure travellers. This network expansion also includes upcoming services between Dehradun and Bengaluru, set to commence from September 15, 2025.
The inaugural flight from Chandigarh, flagged off by Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, departed from Chandigarh Airport at 16:40 hours and will land in Bengaluru at 19:40 hours. The first Ahmedabad – Bengaluru flight took off at 11:00 hours and arrived at 13:25 hours. To mark the milestone, a celebratory event was held at Chandigarh Airport, where the first guest was presented with a commemorative boarding pass.
Speaking at the launch from Chandigarh Airport, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, said, “Our new routes from Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and soon Dehradun to Bengaluru reflect our commitment to creating meaningful connections between state capitals and major metros. With thoughtfully curated fares including our cabin-bag only Xpress Lite fare, comfortable seats, hot meals onboard, and our unique ‘Tales of India’ aircraft liveries, we deliver a warm, distinctly Indian travel experience with every flight. This expansion is another step towards building our pan-India network serving leisure and business travellers with efficiency.”
With these new flights, guests from Ahmedabad can also access convenient one-stop connections via Bengaluru to 26 domestic destinations and three international destinations, while guests from Chandigarh can connect to 22 domestic destinations and Kathmandu. Bengaluru is the largest domestic hub of Air India Express, with over 405 weekly flights connecting 34 domestic destinations.
The airline’s new Boeing aircraft VT-BXB which has a livery inspired by Punjab’s Phulkari textile pattern was deployed to operate the first flight from Chandigarh. The airline has launched more than fifty such tail arts each on its new aircraft as part of its ‘Tales of India’ initiative, which pays tribute to India’s vibrant artistic heritage.
Travellers booking on these routes can also explore ‘Xpress Holidays’, the airline’s holiday platform offering curated travel experiences. The packages include flights, accommodation, transport, and activities, and are available under the Products and Services section on the Air India Express website.
From Bengaluru: Air India Express operates more than 405 weekly flights from Bengaluru connecting directly to 34 domestic destinations including Ahmedabad, Ayodhya, Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hindon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kannur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mangaluru, North Goa, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Varanasi, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam and three international destinations – Abu Dhabi, Dammam, and Kathmandu. Additionally, the airline provides one-stop connectivity to five domestic destinations: Agartala, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Imphal, and Mumbai and 14 international destinations including Al Ain, Bahrain, Bangkok, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Phuket, Ras al Khaimah, Riyadh, Salalah, Sharjah, and Singapore.