New direct routes launched
Several new and resumed international routes dropped this week — FlyArystan restarted direct Almaty–Samarkand services and IndiGo/Air China/Air India have begun restoring India–China direct flights. (travelandtourworld.com) (nomadlawyer.org) Volotea launched Granada–Porto (its first-ever direct Granada connection), Heathrow announced eight new international routes for 2026, and Fiji Airways will start Gold Coast–Nadi service in June. (travelandtourworld.com) (travelandtourworld.com) (2paxfly.com)
FlyArystan’s Almaty–Samarkand service is scheduled as a seasonal operation from March 17–May 30 and again from September 1–October 24, 2026, with twice‑weekly departures on Tuesdays and Saturdays. (flyarystan.com)) The Almaty–Samarkand flights will be operated on Airbus A320 aircraft with a published flight time of about 1 hour 50 minutes and promotional fares starting from 31,000 KZT during the March sales period. (flyarystan.com)) Air China restarted nonstop Beijing–Delhi services on March 21, 2026, operating the route with Boeing 787 aircraft after a multi‑year pause. (ndtv.com)) Air India resumed Delhi–Shanghai (PVG) nonstop on February 1, 2026, with a four‑times‑weekly schedule using Boeing 787‑8s configured with 18 flat beds in business and 238 economy seats. (asianaviation.com)) IndiGo has filed plans to launch a direct New Delhi–Shanghai service and is targeting a late March or early April 2026 start pending regulatory approvals, which would make it the third operator on that city pair. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)) Volotea’s new Granada–Porto link is due to begin on November 3, 2026, as a twice‑weekly service (Tuesdays and Fridays) and the Granada authority projects more than 22,000 seats on the route through the end of 2027. (dipgra.es)) Heathrow’s spring–summer 2026 network additions include new or returning services to Seattle, St. Louis, Rome, Seville, Tivat, Guernsey, Islamabad and Lahore, announced as part of a push after the airport handled 84.5 million passengers in 2025. (travelprnews.com)) Fiji Airways will launch Gold Coast–Nadi nonstop on June 11, 2026, operating three weekly Boeing 737 MAX 8 rotations (Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays) and projecting an annual capacity increase of about 53,000 seats to the market. (fijitimes.com.fj))
