In a significant milestone towards realising the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on June 25, 2026 launched India's first ‘Easy Connect’ flight under the Hub-and-Spoke model from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at Varanasi. It signifies Government's efforts to transform India into a global aviation hub and provide seamless international connectivity to passengers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

The Hub-and-Spoke strategy aims at making India the aviation hub of choice for Indian passengers by 2030 and for the world by 2047. The benefits extend beyond aviation. Improved international connectivity is expected to facilitate trade, tourism, investment and regional economic development. Studies undertaken by the Ministry indicate that aviation hub development could generate approximately 0.4 million direct and indirect jobs and contribute an additional USD 30 billion to India's GDP by 2030. By 2047, the cumulative impact could support approximately 16 million direct and indirect jobs and contribute nearly USD 1.4 trillion to the economy.

Speaking on the occasion, Civil Aviation Minister Shri 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.”

The Minister informed the gathering by saying, “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."

Marking the commencement of operations, the Minister presented a commemorative boarding pass to the first few passengers to check in for the inaugural ‘Easy Connect’ flight.

The event was attended by Shri Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Shri Puneet Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Shri Vipin Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India; Shri Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India and other senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the airline operator.

Under the Hub-and-Spoke model, international passengers complete check-in, immigration and customs formalities at the spoke airport itself, making it the first point of departure for their international journey. For instance, passengers commencing their journey from Varanasi complete all departure formalities at Varanasi before boarding a flight to a designated Indian hub airport such as Delhi.

To ensure the highest standards of security and operational integrity, several safeguards have been incorporated into the model. Both legs of Domestic–International operations are designated as international operations. Separate physical boarding cards bearing appropriate identifiers for domestic (D) and international (I) passengers are issued to prevent passenger intermixing. International passengers travelling under the Hub-and-Spoke framework do not have access to customs declaration facilities at hub airports.

The launch of Hub-and-Spoke international operations from Varanasi marks a major advancement in India's aviation ecosystem and reinforces the Government's commitment to providing inclusive, efficient and globally competitive air connectivity for citizens across the country.

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Divyanshu Kumar

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