British Airways is acting on Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to the airline to resume direct flights between Kolkata and London and is considering starting a biweekly schedule, the Trinamool Congress said on Thursday.

The party posted on its X handle: “Guess who’s bridging the gap between Kolkata and London? British Airways is acting on @MamataOfficial’s suggestion, with plans for biweekly direct flights already in motion. When Didi speaks, the world listens!”

The chief minister had made a strong pitch for the resumption of direct flights while addressing an interactive session titled Opportunities in West Bengal in London on March 25.

She urged British carriers to reinstate the service, which was discontinued before the Trinamool government came to power in 2011.

“My humble request to my friends from UK airlines—can you give us one direct flight? British Airways used to operate [London-Kolkata flights]. But before we came to power [in 2011], the service was withdrawn. I do not know what the cause was. But now every flight is almost fully booked. We are also giving some fuel concessions. Whoever approaches us first, we will give them an advantage in fuel tax,” Banerjee stated at the event.

A day after the CM’s appeal, on March 26, a high-level meeting was held at Nabanna, the Bengal state secretariat, where key stakeholders discussed expanding overseas air routes. Among those present were Dr P. R. Beuria, director of Kolkata airport, and principal secretary (home) Nandini Chakraborty.

Representatives from the Airlines Association and the Tour & Travel Association also participated in the discussions, reflecting the growing demand for improved global connectivity from the city.

British Airways, which operated flights to Kolkata for nearly 80 years, ceased operations from the city in March 2009. Air India had briefly filled the gap, launching a direct London-Kolkata flight in 2005, but the service was discontinued three years later due to poor load factors.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kolkata to London flight had a chequered existence. It began with a twice-a-week operation in September, 2020 but was reduced to one flight a week by October.

The flight service was later withdrawn from March 21, 2022.