Air India Easy Connect Initiative and ₹2,800 Crore Varanasi Airport Expansion Plan

Key facts

• The Union Minister of Civil Aviation (MoCA), K Ram Mohan Naidu, inaugurated the first hub-and-spoke flight connecting Varanasi to international destinations via New Delhi.
• The initiative is part of the 'Easy Connect' programme by Air India, which connects Varanasi to 17 international destinations including London, Frankfurt, and Singapore.
• The Union Government announced a ₹2,800 crore expansion plan for Varanasi Airport, which includes a runway extension, a new terminal, and multilevel car parking to be completed within 13 months.
• Under the 'Easy Connect' model, travellers can complete international immigration at their originating airport and check in baggage through to their final destination without re-checking at the hub airport.
• MoCA plans to convert six destinations into hub-and-spoke models within six weeks, including Amritsar, Vadodara, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam.