Air India plans direct flight to US from Bengaluru and Hyderabad from Jan

These twice-a-week non-stop flights will be operated from Bengaluru to San Francisco (SFO), and from Hyderabad to Chicago

Widening the options for passengers to travel non-stop between India and the US, national carrier Air India is planning direct flights from Bengaluru and Hyderabad to that country from January.

These twice-a-week non-stop flights will be operated between Bengaluru and San Francisco (SFO), and Hyderabad and Chicago. At present, Air India operates non-stop flights to the US from Delhi and Mumbai.

In a press release, Bangalore International Airport Limited announced that Air India would operate 238-seater Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to San Francisco from January 11. At 14,000 km, this would be Air India's longest route, and also the longest flight to any destination from India.

Air India has not made a formal announcement about the new flights yet. An airline executive said certain government approvals were pending and reservations were yet to open.

United Airlines has already announced Bengaluru-San Francisco flight with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft from next May.