Varanasi, Jun 25 (PTI) Air India on Thursday operated the first flight from Varanasi under the Hub and Spoke model, which seeks to provide seamless connectivity between smaller cities and overseas destinations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the initiative will bring India's regions closer to global opportunities.

After inaugurating the first flight, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said such services will commence from six more cities in six weeks.

The model that seeks to make India a global aviation hub will enable seamless connectivity between Tier-II and Tier-III airports with international destinations.

Passengers arriving from smaller cities will be routed through major hub airports such as Delhi for onward international connections.

The inaugural 'Easy Connect' flight AI1111 departed from Varanasi at 9.30 am and landed at Delhi at around 10.50 am, and further passengers would be connected to nine international destinations, including Dubai, Colombo, Jeddah and Phuket.

In a message on Thursday, Modi said the Hub and Spoke international flights model would reduce travel time for passengers, as well as bring regions of India closer to global opportunities.

Modi said better international connectivity creates new opportunities for trade, tourism, investment, education and business.

"It enables people from smaller cities to access global destinations through a single, integrated journey while also supporting the movement of goods and services. This will contribute to regional development and strengthen India's economic growth," he said in the message.

The message was read out by Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha at the inaugural ceremony for the first flight.

According to the prime minister, the initiative will reduce travel time for passengers, make better use of existing infrastructure, improve aircraft utilisation and help ease congestion at major airports.

"Most importantly, it will bring more regions of India closer to global opportunities," he said.

Varanasi, from where the operations under the model are starting, is also the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Modi.

Over the next few months, Air India said it aims to start such flights from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Patna, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam.

Naidu said IndiGo would also be starting flights under the Hub and Spoke model.

At the inaugural ceremony, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said 'Easy Connect' flights would be extended to Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai and other cities in the coming months.

'Easy Connect' flights will enable travellers from cities beyond major hubs to drop baggage and complete immigration at the origin airport and travel seamlessly to overseas destinations.

Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the Hub and Spoke model would benefit Tier II and Tier III cities as well as help create more job opportunities and attract investments.

"Nearly 25 million passengers travel long-haul to and from India annually, of which close to 20 million are connecting travellers and around 85 per cent (approximately 17 million) of whom currently transit through overseas hubs rather than Indian airports," Air India said in a release.

At present, nearly 35 per cent of international passengers travelling from India transit through foreign hubs such as Dubai, London and Singapore.

With the Hub and Spoke model, the government looks to reverse the trend by developing global aviation hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai.

At the spoke airport, passengers will be issued two separate boarding passes, clearly marked with 'D' (Domestic) and 'I' (International) indicators.

Customs and immigration formalities for outbound passengers will be completed at the first point of exit from the country, which will be the spoke airport, and passengers on such outbound journeys will not have access to customs declaration facilities during transit.

For inbound passengers, customs and immigration processes will take place at the final point of entry into the country, which will again be the spoke airport.

The baggage for both inbound and outbound international passengers will be transferred seamlessly through airside operations at the hub airport, eliminating the need for passenger intervention.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing domestic civil aviation markets. PTI RAM MR