Air India resumes direct flights between Bengaluru and San Francisco
New Delhi, Dec 2: Air India on Friday resumed direct services from Bengaluru to San Francisco and now the airline has 37 non-stop flights every week between various Indian and US cities.
After taking over Air India in January this year, the Tata group is expanding its network as well as fleet.
In a release, the airline said it is resuming the non-stop flight connecting Bengaluru to San Francisco. The flight will operate thrice a week on Fridays, Sundays and Wednesdays with the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.
The service started on Friday.
The last time Air India operated the Bengaluru-San Francisco flight was on March 20, 2022.
"The direct distance between Bengaluru and San Francisco is 13,993 km approx. and the cities are diametrically at opposite ends of the world with a time zone change of approx. 13.5 hours. The total flight time on this route will be of more than 17 hours depending on the wind speed on that particular day," the release said.
With the resumption of services, Air India now has 37 non-stop flights per week between India and the US.
Currently, the airline operates non-stop flights from Delhi to New York, Newark, Washington DC, San Francisco and Chicago and from Mumbai to Newark.
Air India is set to spread its wings further in the US with the commencement of its first-ever non-stop service between Mumbai and San Francisco and to New York, the release said.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
