The terminal came alive on Tuesday with Indian drummers and dancers weaving their way through passengers who were joined by Members of Parliament, business leaders and members of the Sikh UK community. Amritsar complements the established Delhi service from Birmingham Airport which started in August 2013. The service has carried more than 600,000 passengers in the four years it has operated using the popular Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.

William Pearson, Aviation Director, Birmingham Airport, commented: “We are proud to say we are offering a totally unique route, as Birmingham is the only UK airport offering a direct service to Amritsar. The Midlands has the second largest Asian community in the UK and so it is great news that we are making more of India accessible to our passengers for business, leisure and to visit family and friends.”

Tara Naidu, Regional Manager – UK & Europe of Air India, added: “Amritsar is an important spiritual centre for the Sikh faith being home to the Golden Temple as well as being a major commercial and cultural centre in the heart of the Punjab. The Sikh community has long awaited this direct route and so we are sure it will be as popular as our Delhi service from Birmingham.”

Vishwanath Panyam, Manager- Birmingham, Air India commented: “The addition of Amritsar is great news for our passengers offering greater choice, flexibility and convenience. The celebrations for the inaugural flight yesterday were fantastic and show the amount of excitement and support for this route.”