Madhya Pradesh gets its first international flight, Air India launching its Indore-Dubai service

Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital Indore on Monday made it to the international aviation map with national carrier Air India launching a flight service to Dubai from the international airport here. Flight AI903 took wings from the Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar International Airport with 150 passengers after a traditional inaugural function, Air India (AI) said.

From Indore, Air India is operating a 162-seater A320neo aircraft which will fly three times a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays — non-stop to Dubai. This was the first international commercial flight from Madhya Pradesh. The flight was flagged off by Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani along with local Parliamentarian Shankar Lalwani in the presence of former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, among others. If the new flights on the Indore-Dubai route get a good response, the state-run carrier will think about making it a daily service, said Lohani.