Panaji: Goa has been included in Air India’s phased rollout of its new ‘Easy Connect’ hub-and-spoke service, enabling international travellers to complete immigration formalities and check in baggage at their departure airport, eliminating the need to re-check baggage during transit through Indian hubs.Under the service, passengers from Goa will be able to connect via Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru to international destinations with baggage checked through to the final destination. Goa is among 12 destinations selected for the rollout, alongside Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Visakhapatnam.Air India launched the service on Wednesday with an inaugural flight from Varanasi to Delhi, offering onward connectivity to nine international destinations, including Dubai, Colombo, Jeddah, Riyadh and Phuket.The airline said the initiative aims to encourage more international passengers to transit through Indian airports. Of the nearly 25 million passengers travelling long-haul to and from India annually, around 17 million currently connect through overseas hubs such as Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore.“India is a major force in global aviation, and yet, for decades a meaningful share of Indian travellers flying abroad have routed their journeys through overseas transit points,” said Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO and managing director.Meanwhile, Goa’s domestic air connectivity received a boost with Star Air commencing direct flights between Manohar International Airport and Mundra, Gujarat. The service will operate five times a week, from Tuesday to Saturday.Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte welcomed the new route, saying improved air connectivity is key to making Goa more accessible year-round and strengthening travel links with Gujarat.Tourism director Kedar Naik said every new air route helps expand Goa’s tourism footprint and improves accessibility for travellers across the country.
