- New flights to Khajuraho linking Delhi and Varanasi
- New flights to Jaisalmer from Mumbai
- Increased frequency to Gaya
Air India today announced enhancements to its domestic route network, effective Northern Winter Schedule 2026, strengthening connectivity to some of India’s iconic heritage and spiritual destinations. Starting 25 October 2026, Air India will operate daily flights to Khajuraho, linking the city to Delhi and Varanasi. The airline will also operate non-stop daily flights between Mumbai and Jaisalmer, complementing its existing Delhi-Jaisalmer winter services, as well as increased frequency to Gaya from Delhi.
This is one of the rare occassions where an Indian carrier is adjusting its network well ahead of time, with a season to go inbetween. This will help passengers plan ahead and Air India have better plans in place for international connectivity to these destinations. The routing and day of operations also brings back the triangular routing which alternates depending on the day of week. In the hay days of 2010s, most airlines oeprated such a routing between Bagdogra and Guwahati with Delhi – Bagdogra – Guwahati – Delhi on some days of the week and Delhi – Guwahati – Bagdogra – Delhi on other days.
Khajuraho flights for tri-city tours
Air India’s new services are designed to boost connectivity and convenience for tourists to explore Khajuraho, renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage-listed temples, and Varanasi, the spiritual heart of India, on a single seamless trip. The new flights will operate daily on a triangular circuit with an alternating routing patten, as follows, providing flexible options for travellers to prioritise their preferred order of visits to both destinations, while ensuring seamless connections via Delhi to destinations across Europe, Southeast Asia and the Far East.
Flight routing:
- On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays: Delhi – Khajuraho -Varanasi – Delhi
- On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays: Delhi – Varanasi – Khajuraho – Delhi
Delhi-Khajuraho-Varanasi has emerged as a sought-after tourist circuit for discerning travellers seeking deeper immersion in India’s spiritual and artistic legacy, combining Varanasi’s ancient ghats and storied bylanes with Khajuraho’s medieval temple structures. IndiGo currently operates winter seasonal flights to Khajuraho.
Connecting Mumbai with Jaisalmer and boosting connectivity to Gaya
Air India’s new seasonal service between Mumbai and Jaisalmer starting 25 October 2026 expands access to the popular destination in Rajasthan. This new route complements Air India’s existing daily Delhi-Jaisalmer flights and provides guests from western India direct connectivity to the Jaisalmer during the peak winter tourism season.
Air India will add an additional daily frequency between Delhi and Gaya this winter, offering both morning and afternoon departures in each direction, thus improving access and adding flexibility for travellers.
Connecting East-West via India
The new flights are timed to enable seamless onward connections for guests travelling from destinations across Europe (including the UK), Southeast Asia, and the Far East into Khajuraho, Varanasi, or Gaya. This will help to position these timeless Indian destinations more strongly on international itineraries. The flights conveniently connect to/from destinations including but not limited to London (Heathrow), Birmingham, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bali (Denpasar), Seoul (Incheon), Hong Kong, and Tokyo (Haneda).
| SCHEDULE OF FLIGHTS BETWEEN DELHI AND KHAJURAHO EFFECTIVE 25 OCTOBER 2026 | |||||||
| FLIGHT # | SECTOR | DEPARTURE | ARRIVAL | DAYS OF OPERATION | |||
| AI2568 | Delhi-Khajuraho | 1325 hrs | 1440 hrs | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | |||
| AI2568 | Khajuraho-Varanasi | 1530 hrs | 1615 hrs | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | |||
| AI2568 | Varanasi-Delhi | 1705 hrs | 1830 hrs | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | |||
| AI2567 | Delhi-Varanasi | 1325 hrs | 1450 hrs | Tue, Thu, Sat | |||
| AI2567 | Varanasi-Khajuraho | 1540 hrs | 1625 hrs | Tue, Thu, Sat | |||
| AI2567 | Khajuraho-Delhi | 1715 hrs | 1830 hrs | Tue, Thu, Sat | |||
| SCHEDULE OF FLIGHTS BETWEEN MUMBAI (BOM) AND JAISALMER (JSA) Effective 25 OCTOBER 2026 | |||||||
| FLIGHT # | CITY PAIR | DEPARTURE | ARRIVAL | DAYS OF OPERATION | |||
| AI2563 | Mumbai-Jaisalmer | 1000 hrs | 1140 hrs | Daily | |||
| AI2564 | Jaisalmer-Mumbai | 1250 hrs | 1430 hrs | Daily | |||
| SCHEDULE OF FLIGHTS BETWEEN DELHI (DEL) AND GAYA (GAY)Effective 25 OCTOBER 2026 | |||||||
| FLIGHT # | CITY PAIR | DEPARTURE | ARRIVAL | DAYS OF OPERATION | |||
| AI2561 | Delhi-Gaya | 0745 hrs | 0915 hrs | Daily | |||
| AI2562 | Gaya-Delhi | 1000 hrs | 1125 hrs | Daily | |||
| AI429 (existing) | Delhi-Gaya | 1500 hrs | 1640 hrs | Daily | |||
| AI 430 (existing) | Gaya-Delhi | 1715 hrs | 1845 hrs | Daily | |||
| *All flight times are in local time zone | |||||||
Network Thoughts
The second frequency on the Delhi – Gaya – Delhi route will say outbound connections to European bank, while Mumbai – Jaisalmer enhances the connectivity at Jaisalmer, which the airline launched this Winter as a seasonal destination. The seasonal nature of planning which wasn’t very popular in India is clearly making inroads and airlines shift capacity to higher yielding destintations based on the time of the year.
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