"Flying three times a week from Mumbai to Manchester beginning in December and twice weekly from Delhi starting in January, these new services will go on sale on 20th October and will complement the airline's existing services from Mumbai and Delhi to London-Heathrow," the company said in a statement.

 

"These new services will open up over 130,000 seats between India and Manchester and aim to respond to the large, fast-growing demand to visit friends and relatives as well as capturing demand for business and leisure travel to the region as global economies gradually recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic."

 

As well as flying customers, Virgin Atlantic said it will offer cargo service presenting new opportunities for companies looking to export and import goods such as fresh produce, pharmaceuticals and textiles between prime markets in the UK, the US and India.

 

The airline restarted passenger flights from India on September 2 after a five-month hiatus due to Covid-19.