The first Air India return flight from Delhi to Milan Malpensa took off on February 1, the carrier has announced.
The four-times weekly route adds to the airline's "imminent operations" from Delhi to Copenhagen and Vienna and means India's tourists "will have easy access by road to popular cities like Zurich, Rome, Florence, Vienna, Venice, Monte Carlo, Munich, Budapest, Geneva, Cannes and Copenhagen".
Tata-owned Air India flies 79 weekly flights to Europe, with 48 bound for the UK and the remainder to seven destinations on the mainland.
The departure of the Milan flight from Delhi was marked with a ceremony attended by senior Air India officials and saw the lighting of a ceremonial lamp.
“With the launch of this flight to Milan, we will be spreading our wings to cover major destinations in Europe and fulfil a key element of our five-year transformation plan, Vihaan.AI, that is to strengthen India’s global network. The introduction of these flights is another step in that journey, in sync with our fleet expansion. We look forward to welcoming guests and sharing Air India’s warm Indian hospitality with them," said Nipun Aggarwal, Air India's chief commercial officer.