The achievement marks a broader philosophical shift in global travel: airports are no longer viewed simply as transit networks with gates, but as a traveler’s first intimate experience with a nation’s brand.

Delhi IGI: Competing at Global ScaleAs global airlines like Air India, IndiGo, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates funnel millions of international business leaders, diplomats, and tourists through the capital, Delhi Airport has balanced staggering traffic loads with an increasingly polished passenger experience.The Scale: Serving nearly 79 million passengers annually, placing it alongside some of the absolute busiest transit vectors on earth.

The Focus: Moving beyond infrastructure to emphasize transit comfort, cultural showcases (such as the terminal’s iconic Mudra hand gestures), and streamlined border handling.

The Strategic Takeaway

For India’s booming economy, Delhi Airport’s upward trajectory is a strong signal. As international travel accelerates, global airports are actively competing for a larger share of tourism revenue, high-value airline partnerships, and international transit spending.

By prioritizing passenger sentiment over just expanding terminal footprints, Delhi’s steady climb indicates that Indian aviation is evolving to treat infrastructure as the baseline, and the passenger experience as the true differentiator.

INDIA – Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), today announced the launch of new flight services to Chiang Rai in Thailand, and Okinawa and Tokyo (Haneda) in Japan. These flights will commence progressively between December 2025 and March 2026, offering more options for holidaymakers planning their year-end and new year travels.

Located in the northernmost part of Thailand, Chiang Rai is known for its mountainous grandeur and serene atmosphere. Deeply rooted in Lanna heritage, its ethnic population is diverse with different hill tribes. Its multiculturalism is further reflected in the province’s architecture, cuisine and art. Scoot will begin five times weekly flights to Chiang Rai on 1 January 2026 on the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft.

Okinawa, Japan’s subtropical paradise, is an archipelago of islands known for its pristine beaches, clear waters, and unique Ryukyu heritage. Home to cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage sites, Okinawa offers an immersion into the rich history and natural beauty of the land. Scoot will also launch services to Tokyo (Haneda), providing travellers an alternative and convenient way to access the bustling capital of Japan. Three times weekly flights to Okinawa will begin on 15 December 2025 on the Airbus A320 family aircraft, while daily flights to Tokyo (Haneda) will begin on 1 March 2026 on the Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

One-way economy class fares^[1] start from INR 17,500 to Tokyo (Haneda) and Okinawa, and from INR 10,500 to Chiang Rai. With seamless connections via. Singapore, Indian travellers can now explore these destinations with Scoot.

The new flights will be available for booking from today via Scoot’s website, mobile application, and progressively through other channels.

With the launch of services to Chiang Rai, Okinawa and Tokyo (Haneda), Scoot will operate 111 weekly flights to Thailand and 45 weekly flights to Japan. With the new additions to its network, the airline will operate to 76 destinations (including Singapore) across 18 countries and territories in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.

Aside from the new destinations, Scoot will be increasing flight frequencies within its network to support anticipated demand for air travel during the upcoming holiday periods.

In Southeast Asia, flights to Bangkok increased from 35 to 39 times weekly from August 2025. Ipoh will see increased services from 17 to 21 times weekly from November 2025. Chiang Mai will also see progressive increase in frequencies to 14 times weekly by December 2025, up from seven times weekly.

In North Asia, services to Tokyo (Narita) (via Taipei) will progressively increase to 14 times weekly from October 2025, up from 12 times weekly. Services to Sapporo (Hokkaido) (via Taipei) will also increase from four to seven times weekly from December 2025. Correspondingly, services between Singapore and Taipei will gradually increase from 23 to 25 times from October 2025 and 25 to 28 times from December 2025. Additionally, flights to Jeju will increase from five to seven times weekly from January 2026.

In Europe, frequencies to Vienna will increase from three to four times weekly from March 2026.

Mr Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer of Scoot, shared, “We are thrilled to expand Scoot’s network in Asia with new routes to Chiang Rai, Okinawa and Tokyo (Haneda), offering our customers even more travel options. In addition, the upcoming increase in services to some cities will support stronger demand for air travel during the year-end and new year holiday periods. We will continue to look for opportunities to connect our customers to new travel experiences and memorable journeys with Scoot.”

Flight schedules are subject to government and regulatory approvals or changes. For more information on flight schedules, please visit www.flyscoot.com.

Marking the dawn of a new chapter for the Indian aviation industry were Mr Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, and Mr Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Airlines, as well as senior management and employees from Tata, SIA, Air India, and Vistara.

Consolidating the four airlines within the Air India Group to one full service and one low-cost airline is part of the ongoing, five-year Vihaan.AI transformation programme. This creates an Air India Group with a significant presence across all key segments of the Indian market – domestic, international, full-service, and low-cost operations. This will help to enhance the Group’s operational capabilities, expand its customer base, and gradually elevate service standards, product excellence, and the customer experience.

Post-merger, the Air India Group operates a combined fleet of 300 aircraft covering 55 domestic and 48 international destinations, with 312 routes and 8,300 flights per week. The airline will offer extended worldwide connectivity to over 800 destinations through more than 75 codeshare and interline partners. The collective staff strength stands at over 30,000.

Mr Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “It has been a little over two and a half years since the homecoming of Air India to the Tata Group. This week’s merger between Air India and Vistara is an important milestone in our commitment to transform Air India into a world-class global airline. Singapore Airlines continues to be our strategic partner in our aviation journey and we welcome them to Air India.”

Mr Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: “This merger marks a pivotal moment for Indian aviation. Working with our valued, long-standing partner Tata Sons, the SIA Group will support the ongoing transformation of the enlarged Air India Group, offering our stewardship and expertise where possible. We are focused on helping to restore Air India to its leading position in the Indian aviation market, and creating an airline Group that everyone in India can be proud of.

“For the SIA Group, the completion of the merger reinforces our long-standing direct participation in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. Singapore Airlines is committed to deepening our commercial collaboration with Air India, and finding ways to provide greater value and enhanced options to our customers on flights between India and Singapore, and beyond.”

Bengaluru, 23 October 2024: Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to significantly expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network.  This marks the first extensive expansion of codeshare arrangements between the airlines since 2010, offering customers enhanced travel options between Singapore and India, as well as beyond.

From 27 October 2024, Air India and SIA will codeshare on each other’s flights between Singapore and the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, increasing their total weekly scheduled codeshare services between the countries to 56 from 14.

SIA will codeshare on Air India’s domestic flights between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as between Kolkata and Guwahati.

Air India customers will be able to access 29 destinations across SIA’s network. These are Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney (Australia), Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia), Denpasar, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya (Indonesia), Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo-Haneda, and Tokyo-Narita (Japan), Busan and Seoul (South Korea), Kuala Lumpur and Penang (Malaysia), Auckland (New Zealand), Cebu and Manila (the Philippines), as well as Danang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). This includes existing codeshare arrangements to Kuala Lumpur.

SIA customers will also be able to connect to Air India’s international services from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai to 12 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. These are Copenhagen (Denmark), Paris (France), Frankfurt (Germany), Milan (Italy), Nairobi (Kenya), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Jeddah and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), as well as Birmingham, London-Gatwick, and London-Heathrow (the United Kingdom).

Both airlines plan to progressively include other destinations in their network to the codeshare arrangements.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the codeshare flights will be progressively made available for sale through the airlines’ respective booking channels.

Mr Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said: “This is a continuation of our effort to offer our guests more choice and an extended global network. Air India and Singapore Airlines have been longtime partners, and with this expanded scope of our codeshare agreement, we are excited to offer our guests greater connectivity to destinations across South East Asia, the Far East, and Australasia. We also look forward to welcoming Singapore Airlines customers on board our flights within India as well as westward to multiple points across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East via our hubs in India.”

Mr Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: “This expansion of Singapore Airlines’ codeshare arrangements with Air India reflects the strong collaborative spirit between our two carriers. It demonstrates our commitment to meeting the high demand for air travel between India and Singapore and beyond, and contributing to the growth of both aviation markets. Adding Air India’s domestic network to our codeshare arrangements will also offer our customers enhanced connectivity and convenience in India, which is a key market for the SIA Group.”