An Air India Boeing 787. Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – India’s largest airline, Air India, announced Thursday plans to launch direct flights between Tel Aviv and New Delhi. The airline plans to offer three weekly flights on the route, which is expected to become operational in May.

The route is expected to serve the increasing number of Indian tourists visiting Israel and Israelis traveling to India as a result of the strong ties developed between the two countries.

Direct flights between Tel Aviv and New Delhi are currently only available on Israel’s flagship airline, El Al.

According to Israel Airports Authority data, travel between Israel and India has grown significantly in recent years, and the number of passengers flying directly between the two countries reached 158,000 last year.

“We’re continuing to develop airports in Israel and pushing down prices, so that the consumer revolution reaches every household, and the Israeli public will be the main beneficiary. More airlines and airplanes flying to and from Israel enhance competition for the Israeli consumer and lower ticket prices substantially,” Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz was quoted as saying in the financial news outlet Globes.