VIRGIN ATLANTIC has announced that it will launch Delhi-Manchester flights in October this year.
This will be the airline's first service connecting Asia and Manchester.
“The year 2020 marks our 20th anniversary of flying to India and as the destination continues to grow in popularity for both business and leisure travel, we are thrilled to announce for very first time a new service flying three times a week from Delhi to Manchester, our home in the north,” said Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer Juha Jarvinen.
Virgin Atlantic currently operates daily flights connecting London's Heathrow Airport with New Delhi and Mumbai.
With the Delhi-Manchester service, the airline would be offering a total of over six lakh seats a year between India and the UK.
Manchester is second largest destination for Indians after London Heathrow.
Over 300,000 people flew between Indian cities and Manchester in 12 months ending September 2019, accounting for about 10 per cent of the traffic between the two countries, reported the Business Standard.
The Virgin Atlantic statement said: "Manchester is the UK’s third largest airport and is an ideal gateway to the rest of the UK and Virgin Atlantic will offer seamless connectivity to destinations such as Edinburgh and Belfast with Flybe, soon to be rebranded Virgin Connect,” said the airline.
“Virgin Atlantic flights from Delhi to Manchester will have also have connections to New York and Orlando.”
Bookings for the new service, which will use A330-200 aircraft, would open on March 3.
Manchester, which has a sizeable population of Indians, was earlier being served by the now-defunct Jet Airways.
Incidentally, the Chennai-Paris route slot left vacant by Jet Airways has been picked by Virgin’s JV partner Air France, with flight commencing on June 14.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)