New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS): Air India on Thursday announced the introduction of 20 new flights per week to Qatar from key Indian cities. The added capacity will cater to the surge in demand expected around the football extravaganza in Qatar scheduled in November and December 2022.

The flights, to be introduced from October 30, will connect Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai with Qatar's capital Doha during this period. Thirteen flights per week will operate from Mumbai, four from Hyderabad and three from Chennai. These flights will be in addition to the existing daily flights to Doha from Delhi.

The additional connectivity to Qatar follows Air India's increase of 14 new flights on its domestic network last month. These additional 14 flights included two new frequencies on each of the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru and Mumbai-Chennai routes, as well as one new frequency on the Mumbai-Bengaluru route. The strengthening of network connectivity is being enabled as more aircraft return to service.

Commenting on the introduction of new flights for Qatar, Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said: "Bringing in the football extravaganza in this part of the world, Air India aims to provide strong connectivity between India and Qatar. Football fans across India are excited to be in stadiums in Qatar where the world's best football talent will be competing with each other."

"Our flight schedule has been planned to make the entire travel experience convenient and seamless. Over the past few months, we have been working closely with our partners to return aircraft to service which has resulted in these additional flights. Air India hopes to continue to provide world-class flying experience for landmark sporting events in the future as well," he added.