On This Day in 1948, Air India Flew Its Maiden International Flight to London With 35 Passengers

At a time when all international flights out of India are banned due to coronavirus, barring few unscheduled flights under Mission Vande Bharat, Civil Aviation Minister has shared an interesting aviation fact on his Twitter timeline.

On this day, in 1948, Air India, country’s national air carrier flew its maiden international flight from Mumbai to London via Cairo and Geneva. The plane took off on June 8, 1948 and landed two days later on June 10, 1948 in London with 35 passengers on board including JRD Tata and Nawab Amir Ali Khan of Jamnagar among others.

The plane was piloted by Captain K R Guzdar and was a 40-seater Lockheed Martin L-749 Constellation aircraft. The plane was called Malabar Princess.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote – “A Constellation aircraft took off from Mumbai on June 8 & landed in London via Cairo & Geneva on June 10, 1948 with 35 passengers on board on the first ever international flight by @airindiain. Today, we have come a long way.”

India is currently under reopening phase of lockdown that started from March 25 when all domestic and international flights except medical and cargo flights were banned. India gradually opened the domestic routes, but in a calibrated manner. However International flights are yet to be resumed.

Currently government is repatriating people stuck in various countries via the Vande Bharat Mission which is in its phase 3.

Image Credit: Mila Daniel

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