New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS): National carrier Air India on Tuesday announced daily flights between Delhi and Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh 2025, the world’s largest spiritual gathering, as the demand surges at both domestic and international fronts.

To meet the surging travel demand, Air India will operate the route from January 25 to February 28.

“With these flights, Air India brings the only full-service flying option between the two cities for customers, offering them the choice of premium cabins in addition to Economy Class,” the airline said in a statement.

From January 25 to January 31, the Air India Delhi-Prayagraj flight will depart from Delhi at 14:10 hours and arrive in Prayagraj at 15:20 hours. The return flight will take off from Prayagraj at 16:00 hours and land in Delhi at 17:10 hours.

From February 1 to February 28, the Air India schedule will be changed, with the flight from Delhi departing at 13:00 hours and arriving in Prayagraj at 14:10 hours.

The return flight will take off from Prayagraj at 14:50 hours and land in Delhi at 16:00 hours, according to the airline.

“With convenient daytime departures in both directions, the flights enable seamless connections via Delhi to customers travelling to and from various parts of India as well as North America, Europe, Australia, and several countries in Southeast Asia,” the Air India statement added.

Bookings for the flights are being progressively opened on all channels, including Air India’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents.

With Prayagraj now connected to over 20 destinations through direct and one-hop flights, compared to just Delhi as the only destination during the last Kumbh, aviation is playing a key role in ferrying pilgrims to this year's Mela, according to Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo.

Prayagraj has registered a 162 per cent year-on-year increase in flight bookings on ixigo while nearby airports like Varanasi and Lucknow have seen a 127 and 42 per cent growth in bookings, respectively.