Direct flight between Amritsar and Birmingham from September 3

Come September 3, travellers will be able to board Air India’s direct flight between Amritsar and Birmingham. It comes after the United Kingdom (UK) moved India to amber (medium-risk) list from the red (high-alert) list on August 8 after relaxing restrictions on passengers arriving from India. Information available on Air India' website says the flight AI117 will take off from Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport every Friday at 3 pm and arrive at Birmingham the same day. The return flight AI118 will then depart from Birmingham next day (on Saturday) and reach Amritsar on Sunday morning at 7.35 am. Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be used on this route. Also read | RFID tags now mandatory for commercial vehicles entering Delhi Earlier, on August 16, Air India had resumed one weekly direct flight to London’s Heathrow airport from Amritsar. This direct connectivity with the UK has once again started the perishable cargo movement from the airport. According to a tweet by the airport authorities, 6,270 kg perishable cargo (baby corn and mango pickle) was exported on the first flight to Heathrow on August 17 and 9,133 kg on August 24 flight that included sporting goods. Also read | Tokyo Paralympics: Vinod Kumar loses bronze, ineligible for classification Councillor Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, chairman, SEVA Trust, UK, who has been campaigning for direct flights to UK, expressed happiness at the resumption of flight to Birmingham. The move has also been appreciated by Punjabi diaspora in the UK as they can travel to holy city Amritsar without any hassle. The schedule

• Flight AI117 takes off from Amritsar every Friday at 3 pm and arrives at Birmingham the same day
• Return flight AI118 depart from Birmingham next day (Saturday) and reach Amritsar on Sunday morning at 7.35 am