Varanasi: India’s aviation sector marked a significant milestone with the launch of the country’s first Easy Connect flight under the Hub-and-Spoke model from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu inaugurated the service on June 25, 2026, reinforcing the Government’s vision of transforming India into a global aviation hub while enhancing seamless international connectivity for passengers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The launch of the Easy Connect flight represents a major step towards realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of expanding accessible and efficient air travel across the country.
The initiative aims to ensure that passengers from smaller cities can begin their international journeys directly from their home airports without facing multiple procedural hurdles.
The newly introduced Hub-and-Spoke strategy is designed to position India as the preferred aviation hub for Indian passengers by 2030 and eventually emerge as a global aviation hub by 2047.
Through the Easy Connect flight model, the Government seeks to simplify international travel while driving broader economic growth.
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According to studies conducted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, aviation hub development has the potential to create nearly 0.4 million direct and indirect jobs and contribute an additional USD 30 billion to India’s GDP by 2030.
Looking further ahead, the cumulative economic impact by 2047 could support approximately 16 million direct and indirect jobs and add nearly USD 1.4 trillion to the Indian economy.
Speaking on the occasion, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, “Today we take a major step forward towards realising our vision of making air travel more accessible and building a future-ready, self-reliant Indian aviation industry that is efficient, inclusive, and globally competitive.”
Highlighting the transformative potential of the initiative, the Minister added, “Our new hub-and-spoke model paves the way for a monumental shift in how our citizens travel – regardless of the city one lives in India, one can begin their international journey from their home city and travel across the globe with ease and confidence, on India’s own wings.”
To commemorate the launch of the inaugural Easy Connect flight, the Minister presented commemorative boarding passes to the first passengers checking in for the service.
The inaugural event was attended by Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Puneet Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Vipin Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India; Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India.
Under the Easy Connect flight framework, international passengers will complete check-in, immigration and customs formalities at the originating spoke airport itself, making it the official first point of departure for their overseas journey.
For example, passengers travelling from Varanasi will complete all departure procedures at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport before boarding a flight to a designated Indian hub airport such as Delhi, from where they will continue their onward international travel.
To maintain the highest standards of security and operational efficiency, both domestic and international legs under the Domestic-International operations have been classified as international operations.
Separate physical boarding cards with distinct identifiers for domestic (D) and international (I) passengers will be issued to prevent passenger intermixing.
Additionally, international passengers travelling under the Hub-and-Spoke arrangement will not have access to customs declaration facilities at hub airports.
The launch of the first Easy Connect flight from Varanasi marks a major advancement in India’s aviation ecosystem and underscores the Government’s commitment to delivering inclusive, efficient and globally competitive air connectivity across the country.
