In major news since our last update: Air India expands international network and upgrades cabins on key routes for summer 2026; IndiGo to stop flights to Copenhagen, reduce frequencies on Manchester & London routes and extends new flight cancellations to Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku and Tashkent until March 28; Air India welcomes guests to its new flagship Maharaja Lounge at Delhi Airport (T3); IndiGo & AEGEAN Airlines sign codeshare partnership; France announces visa-free transit facility for Indians. These and more updates in the February edition.

France announces visa-free transit for Indian travellers & mandatory online system for visa appointments:

As part of the outcome of President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India from February 17 to 19, 2026, France has announced visa-free airport transit for Indian nationals through French airports. The measure will be introduced on a six-month pilot basis and reviewed thereafter, marking a significant step towards easing travel and enhancing connectivity.

And France has introduced a mandatory online system for visa appointments to streamline the application process for both long-stay national visas and short-stay Schengen visas. Applicants must use the Visa Wizard to determine requirements, register on the Démarches Simplifiées platform, confirm their appointment via email and complete the visa application on the French visa website before the appointed meeting.

United Kingdom to introduce e-Visas:

With effect from February 25, 2026, the UK authorities will be implementing a change in the visa issuance process for certain visa categories, including the UK Visit Visa, where successful applicants may no longer receive a physical visa vignette (sticker) in their passport and it will be replaced with eVisas (digital records of immigration status).

Applicants will be required to create a UKVI account and access their eVisa online to view the permission granted prior to travelling to the United Kingdom. Clear instructions will be provided by UKVI once the visa decision is issued. Applicants are advised to carefully review their eVisa details before travel and ensure their UKVI account is accessible at all times.

Under this new process, passports will be returned to applicants at the time of biometric submission itself, as no visa sticker will be affixed.

Indigo cancels Pune - Bangkok flight for the summer season:

Indigo has cancelled its Pune - Bangkok service in its upcoming summer schedule starting from March 29. As a result, bookings for both Pune - Bangkok and Bangkok-Pune flights have been cancelled for the entire summer season (March 29 to October 24). The airline has not cited any specific reason for the decision.

Until now, both IndiGo and Air India Express operated flights between Pune and Bangkok. With IndiGo's exit, Air India Express will be the sole operator on the route. Pune airport currently has international services to Bangkok, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Emirates to launch flights to Helsinki, Finland

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, will launch daily flights between Helsinki and Dubai from October 01, 2026, expanding its footprint in the Nordics. The new service introduces the only year-round, direct link between Finland and the UAE, and unlocking expanded opportunities for both international leisure and corporate travellers. The service will operate with Emirates’ newest aircraft type, the A350, bringing its latest products and highly acclaimed Premium Economy cabin to Finland.

Emirates flight EK167 will depart Dubai at 08:45hrs*, arriving in Helsinki at 14:55hrs*; the return flight, EK168 will depart Helsinki at 16:45*, landing in Dubai at 00:20* the following day. The flight schedule has been optimised to ensure smooth onwards connections, offering convenient access to and from key destinations across East and Southeast Asia.

Air India welcomes guests to new flagship Maharaja Lounge at Delhi Airport:

Air India, opens the doors of its first flagship Maharaja Lounge at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3, warmly welcoming guests to experience a blend of authentic Indian hospitality and contemporary luxury. Spread across 16,000 sq. ft. at the international pier of Terminal 3, The Maharaja Lounge can accommodate nearly 300 guests and features an expansive ‘Business Class’ and an exclusive ‘First Class’ section called ‘Air India First’, each offering distinct zones tailored to different travel moods and needs.

The lounge will be progressively opened to guests travelling in First and Business Class as well as Maharaja Club Platinum and Gold members, and eligible Star Alliance Gold members starting February 16, 2026.

IndiGo announces codeshare partnership with AEGEAN:

IndiGo and AEGEAN Airlines have announced a codeshare partnership, which - subject to the necessary regulatory approvals - comes into effect from the end of February 2026, offering Indian passengers seamless onward travel to Greek and European destinations. The two carriers plan to launch a reciprocal codeshare cooperation, as IndiGo has begun filing flight numbers with the 6E code on various Aegean routes, effective from February 23, 2026.

At the same time, Aegean has begun displaying flight numbers with the A3 code on various IndiGo services, also from the same date. Specifically, within the framework of the codeshare, AEGEAN will place its code on IndiGo routes connecting Delhi and Mumbai with Athens, as well as on domestic Indian flights from Delhi and Mumbai to major business and tourism destinations such as Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, with a gradual rollout starting on February 23, 2026.

The agreement applies to 11 IndiGo routes, which will be operated by AEGEAN Airlines :

IndiGo operated by Aegean Airlines

Indigo extends code share partnership with KLM to key cities in Germany:

Under the Indigo code share partnership with KLM, Indigo announces the launch of Germany markets where the following destinations will be served via Amsterdam: Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Hamburg, Munich, Nuremburg and Stuttgart.

IndiGo to stop flights to Copenhagen, reduce frequencies on Manchester & London routes

India's largest airline, IndiGo announced adjustments to its long-haul flight schedule, including suspension of flights to and from Copenhagen, due to continuously changing airspace constraints because of geopolitical circumstances and congestion at airports both in India and abroad. These constraints, the airline said, have significantly increased flight and block times, causing strain on the airline’s Boeing 787-9 schedule that is operated with six wide-body aircraft.

As a part of the schedule adjustment, Indigo has suspended all its operations to and from Copenhagen until further notice from February 17. Additionally, from February 07, it will reduce its Delhi-Manchester services from five flights per week to four flights per week, and further to three flights per week from February 19.

In addition, the airline’s Delhi-London Heathrow services will be adjusted from five times a week to four weekly flights for the current winter schedule from February 09 onwards.

IndiGo extends new flight cancellations to Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku and Tashkent until March 28, 2026:

IndiGo announced the extension of the cancellation of flights to and from Tbilisi (Georgia), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Baku (Azerbaijan) till March 28 due to the uncertainty over US - Iran relations where all Indian carriers are currently avoiding to fly over Iran’s airspace, even though Iran has not formally closed its airspace to civilian aircrafts.

Air India expands international network and upgrades cabins on key routes for summer 2026

Air India has announced a major international expansion under its Summer 2026 Schedule, deploying new and upgraded aircraft and increasing frequencies on key long-haul routes to boost capacity and enhance passenger comfort across Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.

Key route and frequency changes:

• Delhi - Tokyo (Haneda): From February 14, 2026, operated by Boeing 787-9 in three-class configuration, introducing Premium Economy and adding about 2,408 seats per month.
• Delhi - Toronto: From March 01, 2026, frequency to increase from 7 to 10 flights per week to improve connectivity to Canada.
• Delhi - Seoul (Incheon): From March 29, 2026, flights to rise from 5 to 6x weekly.
• Delhi - Shanghai to go from 4 to 5x weekly, each route gaining around 2,048 seats per month.

Aircraft upgrades on long-haul routes:

• Mumbai - London Heathrow: From July, to be served by new Boeing 787-9 and retrofitted 787-8 aircraft with brand-new cabin interiors, replacing the Boeing 777-300ER.
• Delhi - Melbourne: Daily flights to use upgraded Boeing 777-300ERs, introducing First Class with 8 suites, 40 fully flat Business seats and 280 Economy seats, adding nearly 4,000 seats per month.
• Bengaluru - London Heathrow: From August, to be operated by retrofitted Boeing 787-8s with new interiors, introducing Premium Economy and ensuring all Air India Heathrow flights use new or upgraded cabins.

Fleet modernisation drive:

• Air India has begun retrofitting 26 legacy Boeing 787-8s with completely new cabin interiors and repainting them in the airline’s new livery, with the first two aircraft due to re-enter service in the coming weeks and more upgrades slated through 2026.
• The carrier also expects delivery of three new Boeing 787-9s and two Airbus A350-1000s in line-fit configuration, tailored to its specifications.

This year, we celebrated Odyssey turning 34 years a little differently.

While February 04, marked the official milestone at the office, the real team celebration happened on February 14 - not with speeches, but with serves and rallies.

The Odyssey team kicked off the morning with a private pickleball starter camp in Kalyani Nagar, booking all six courts and learning the game together from scratch. For most of the team, it was a first - new rules, new sport, lots of laughs, and plenty of competitive spirit.

Two coaches guided the team through the basics, and by the end of the session, what started as curiosity turned into full-fledged matches.

Because at Odyssey, 34 years isn’t just about business growth - it’s about growing together as a team. Followed, of course, by a well-earned breakfast. Here’s to many more milestones, on and off the court.

#OdysseyTravels #34YearsOfExcellence #TeamOdyssey #WorkCulture #Milestones #CorporateCulture #TeamBonding