From correspondents in Uttar Pradesh, India, 10:30 PM IST

The first ever direct flight from Lucknow to Dubai took off Monday.

Air-India Express, the budget international airline promoted by Air-India, launched the flight at a colourful function here to open a direct air-link between Lucknow and the most sought after United Arab Emirates destination.

So far, only two international air services operate from Lucknow - one for Saudi Arabia and the other for Sharjah.

'Looking at the increasing demand of local people, we took the decision to run this flight from here,' Air-India chief commercial manager Vinit Gupta told mediapersons here.

He said: 'The new flight would save passengers the trouble of first going to Delhi and then taking the flight for Dubai. Naturally, it would also cut down travel costs.'

'A one-way ticket would cost just about Rs.5,800, which is even less than the domestic flights between Lucknow and Mumbai,' he said.

He said: 'Ticketing for the flight is being done entirely online, and since the visa for Dubai is now available online, a trip to Dubai could be finalized with just a click of the mouse.'

Air-India Express is operating Boeing 737/800 with a carrying capacity of 185 passengers. It would fly three times a week.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)