Guwahati: Air India Express will become the first airline to offer direct air connectivity between Northeast India and West Asia with the launch of non-stop services from Guwahati to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in August, a move expected to strengthen trade, tourism and people-to-people ties between the region and the Gulf.
The airline said on Thursday that direct flights between Guwahati and Dubai will commence on August 4, followed by services to Abu Dhabi from August 7. The new routes mark Air India Express’ first international operations from Guwahati, one of its largest stations in the country.
The launch positions Guwahati, often described as the gateway to Northeast India, as an emerging international aviation hub and expands overseas travel options for residents of the region, who have traditionally relied on connecting flights through major Indian metropolitan airports.
Air India Express currently operates around 120 weekly flights from Guwahati and more than 290 weekly services across four Northeast destinations — Guwahati, Imphal, Dibrugarh and Dimapur. The addition of Dubai and Abu Dhabi will provide direct access to two of the United Arab Emirates’ leading commercial and travel centres, catering to business travellers, tourists and the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf region.
Industry observers say the services could help unlock new economic opportunities for Northeast India by facilitating faster movement of people and goods, encouraging tourism flows and supporting trade links with West Asian markets.
Under the announced schedule, the Guwahati-Dubai service will operate every Tuesday, departing Guwahati at 12:25 p.m. and arriving in Dubai at 4:10 p.m. The return flight will leave Dubai at 5:10 p.m. and reach Guwahati at 12:25 a.m. the following day.
The Guwahati-Abu Dhabi route will operate every Friday, with flights departing Guwahati at 11:30 a.m. and arriving in Abu Dhabi at 3:15 p.m. The return service will leave Abu Dhabi at 4:15 p.m. and arrive in Guwahati at 11:30 p.m.
Bookings for both routes have opened through the airline’s website, mobile application and other travel booking platforms.
The expansion comes as Air India Express continues to grow its domestic and international network under the Tata Group, targeting stronger connectivity between emerging Indian markets and key overseas destinations. The airline operates more than 500 daily flights connecting 43 domestic and 16 international destinations across South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia.
Beyond network expansion, the carrier has also sought to showcase the cultural heritage of Northeast India through its “Tales of India” initiative, featuring traditional regional art forms and motifs on aircraft tail designs. The programme highlights cultural symbols from Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram, bringing greater visibility to the region’s traditions and craftsmanship on international routes.
The new Gulf services are expected to further integrate Northeast India with global travel and business networks, supporting the region’s growing economic ambitions while enhancing international accessibility for travellers.
Meanwhile, Air India also launched its first “Easy Connect” flight from Varanasi under the Government of India’s new hub-and-spoke aviation framework, a model aimed at enabling passengers from smaller Indian cities to access international destinations through seamless connections at major domestic hubs.
The inaugural flight, AI1111, departed Varanasi for Delhi carrying passengers with onward connections to destinations including Dubai, Colombo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kathmandu and Phuket. Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the service at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, describing it as a significant step towards making international air travel more accessible to travellers across India.
The initiative allows passengers to complete check-in and immigration formalities at their originating airport and transit through major hubs such as Delhi and Mumbai without re-checking baggage, reducing travel complexity and transit times.
Air India said the rollout would be expanded over the coming months to 11 additional cities — Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam — linking them to the airline’s international network through its primary hubs.
Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said the programme was designed to encourage more Indian travellers to connect through domestic airports rather than overseas transit hubs. According to Air India, nearly 25 million passengers travel on long-haul routes to and from India annually, with around 20 million requiring connections. Of these, about 17 million currently transit through foreign hubs.
The airline said the new framework could help position Indian airports as major international transit gateways while improving connectivity for travellers from tier-two and tier-three cities.