Air India has expanded its services from Stansted Airport to Mumbai – the economic powerhouse of India and home of Bollywood – just three months after opening up the northern city of Amritsar to the thriving business and technology communities of Cambridge and the London corridor.

Stansted says the development will deliver a major boost to trade and tourism across the region and the UK in general.

The three-times a week service to Mumbai starts on February 21 initially for the winter season and will be operated by a 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner offering both business and economy class.

Ken O’Toole, London Stansted’s CEO, said: “With London Stansted sitting in one of the most vibrant, exciting and innovative regions in the UK, it should come as no surprise that Air India has decided to launch this new service to one of the world’s most important economic hubs.

“This new route is further evidence of the growing demand from businesses and passengers across the region for more long-haul connections from their local airport. 

“We know that 200,000 people from our region travel to Mumbai every year from other airports, so this new service will not only provide greater choice but help cut down unnecessary journeys and provide a shot in the arm to the regional and national economies.

“As a forward-thinking and innovative airport, we have the ambition and runway capacity to open up even more exciting destinations across Asia, the Middle East and beyond to satisfy rising demand, provide greater choice for consumers and provide a vital boost to jobs and the local economy over the coming years.”

Mumbai is India’s key economic powerhouse with a population of nearly 20 million people. It lies on the west coast of the country and is a major port on the Arabian Sea.

In 2018 it was rated the 12th richest city in the world and is home to India’s film industry, known by many as Bollywood. 

Headquarters of several major companies are based in Mumbai including Tata Group, Essel Group, Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla Group. It accounts for more than six per cent of India’s economy and is home to some of India’s largest consumer packaged goods companies like Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nivea, Colgate-Palmolive, Godrej Consumer Products and many more.

Life sciences entrepreneur Sunil Shah CEO of o2h ventures, a leading investment firm based in Cambridge, said: “This is great news for me personally and for the team at o2h Ventures. Flying to Mumbai previously meant travelling from other UK airports but the new direct service from Stansted will save us serval hours commuting time. 

“Mumbai is rated amongst the top 10 centres for commerce and is known as the commercial capital of India so I’m confident the new route will help facilitate business opportunities for companies in both countries.”