New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS): This winter, India is set to experience a significant boost in international connectivity, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granting approval for a schedule of 2,336 weekly flights operated by 80 airlines.

This marks a notable 9.4 per cent increase compared to the previous winter, when 75 foreign airlines operated 2,136 flights.

As of October 29, the approved schedule for these 80 airlines now provides 5.9 lakh seats per week, a noticeable rise from the 5.5 lakh seats available during the last winter season, according to data from the DGCA.

According to the civil aviation regulator, a total of 2,336 departures per week have been approved to/from 23 stations in India - Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut (Kozhikode), Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirchy, Varanasi, and Visakhapatnam.

The direct international airlines will connect to 50 countries - Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US , Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Air Peace Ltd, Batik Air, Belavia, ITA Airways, Neos S.P.A. NOK AIR and Uganda Airlines are seven new airlines which will be operating during Winter Schedule 2023, however, El Al of Israel have postponed its operations due to the ongoing situation there.