Budget carrier SpiceJet has made its maiden long-haul charter flight to Toronto, Canada, from New Delhi, carrying 352 stranded nationals and permanent residents of that country.

The airline used a wide-bodied A330 Neo aircraft procured from Hi Fly, a Portuguese charter airline, on wet lease. The carrier is the first Indian budget airline to operate a long-haul flight to North America.

Chairman and MD Ajay Singh said the airline has operated flights across the globe repatriating close to 85,000 people and transporting over 28,000 tons of medical and essential supplies in these troubled times. Being the first Indian budget airline to operate a non-stop long-haul flight to North America is a proud moment for the SpiceJet family.”

The budget carrier has got a slot at London’s Heathrow Airport to operate daily flights from India to London from September 1. However, details have not been made available so far. It has also been allowed to fly on India-US routes by the Centre under the bilateral air bubble. The flight schedules on this route have not yet been worked out, so far.

All international commercial air passenger services in India are suspended since March 22, in the wake of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, various evacuation and charter flights are being currently operated to fly back stranded Indians in various countries and also transport foreign nationals, who are stuck in India, to their countries.