Bengaluru-SFO nonstop will be the longest route to be operated by Air India. Credit: Julian Herzog/Wikipedia.

Air India (AI) has announced its plans to start nonstop flights between Hyderabad and Chicago airports, as well as between Bengaluru and San Francisco (SFO) airports, from January 2021.

The direct flight service between Hyderabad in India and Chicago in the US will commence from 9 January 2021. This will be the first scheduled service between the US and South India, reported Times of India.

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AI will start twice-weekly non-stop flights from Bengaluru Airport to San Francisco Airport from 11 January 2021.

From 6 May 2021, United is scheduled to start a direct flight on this route, with American Airlines also planning to connect Seattle to Bengaluru next winter.

A senior AI official told Times of India: “We plan to launch Hyderabad-Chicago as a twice-weekly from 9 January. The date for Bengaluru-SFO is yet to be finalised. We are awaiting US transportation security administration clearance for both these routes.”

With a distance of 14,003km, the Bengaluru-SFO nonstop will be the longest route to be run by AI and any US carrier.

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In a statement, Bengaluru Airport (BLR) said: “The new nonstop service is expected to meet the demand of corporate customers for travel to SFO and adjoining areas in the US. Air India plans to operate a 238-seater Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, to serve the largest unserved international origin / destination (O/D) market for BLR Airport.”

AI opened ticket booking for the Bengaluru-San Francisco route from 25 November.

The privatisation process of the Indian carrier is currently ongoing, with the deadline for bidding expected to conclude next month.

Vistara is also looking at opening direct flights on India-US routes.