Air India to commence Mumbai-Melbourne service in Dec-2023

Melbourne Tullamarine Airport announced (31-Oct-2023) Air India plans to commence three times weekly Mumbai-Melbourne service with Boeing 787-8 equipment on 15-Dec-2023. This will be the first nonstop service connecting Mumbai and Melbourne. Melbourne Tullamarine Airport chief of aviation Jim Parashos stated: "Australia and India have an open skies air services agreement which has provided Air India the certainty they need to efficiently announce, put on sale and launch these new flights without the uncertainty associated with bilateral agreements". Mr Parashos also noted: "Melbourne is home to Australia's largest Indian population and shares significant cultural ties", adding: "Our data shows that as India's financial capital, Mumbai is currently Melbourne's largest international market without non-stop flights, so we expect this service to be very popular in both directions". [more - original PR]