With only 72 passengers, Kolkata’s direct flight to London has to stop over at Delhi

Kolkata’s 11-year wait for a direct connection to Europe just got longer. The direct Kolkata-London flight that was to take off in the early hours of Thursday was cancelled on Wednesday night after London Heathrow Airport (LHR) allegedly withdrew the landing slot for flight AI-1149. The 72 passengers booked on the flight were first flown to Delhi from where they took the Delhi-London flight AI-111seven hours behind schedule. Kolkata airport officials said they learnt about the development around 10pm on Wednesday.