Etihad Airways, which had withdrawn operations from Kolkata after the onset of Covid, is set to return to the city next year with flights to Abu Dhabi and Bangkok.
Kolkata airport officials, however, said there was still no sign of any direct air link with Europe.
Kolkata now has direct flights to Dubai and Doha, said airport officials.
In a communication to travel agents, Etihad Airways has said it would resume daily flights between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi from March 26.
“We are delighted to announce the relaunch of our Kolkata route,” the communication by Etihad Airways stated.
The Airbus A320 aircraft, which Etihad will operate, will have 150 economy and eight business class seats, the communication said.
Etihad Airways and Thai Airways, which operated flights between Kolkata and Bangkok, had not resumed operations after India greenlighted regular international flights in March this year. Regular international flights had remained banned in India from March 2020 because of the pandemic.
Kolkata airport sources and tour operators said Thai Airways was set to resume the Kolkata-Bangkok flights on January 1.
“Both airlines returning to Kolkata is great news for the city’s travel industry. We have also requested Cathay Pacific to resume flights to Hong Kong,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman, east, Travel Agents Federation of India.
Other tour operators said they were also trying to pursue airlines to resume direct connectivity to Europe.
“There are many passengers travelling to Europe, particularly to the UK. Direct connectivity will give them ease of travel,” said Manav Soni, chairman, eastern region, Travel Agents Association of India.