A new service from Stansted Airport to Amritsar is launching this month, allowing passengers to fly direct from Essex to India for the first time.

East Anglian Daily Times: Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphotoGolden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto (Image: saiko3p)

Air India is to fly three times a week to Amritsar making it the only direct service from London airports.

East Anglian Daily Times: Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphotoGolden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto (Image: Luciano Mortula)

The airline is using state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners offering both business and economy classes.

Each Dreamliner can carry around 250 passengers for the eight to nine hour long flights and prices are being advertised from £490 return,

Stansted Airport chief executive Ken O'Toole said: "It is fantastic news that there will be a direct non-stop connection to Amritsar, Punjab from London Stansted Airport with Air India.

"Stansted is ideally situated to serve the Asian community in North and East London and across the East of England so we are delighted that Air India has recognised the customer demand for Amritsar.

"Just last week, we published our Gateway to Growth report that highlighted the strong and growing demand for long-haul services across the region. Our ambition is to use our spare runway capacity to build our long-haul route network and improve the UK's connectivity with the rest of the world at a time when availability is in short supply across south-east airports.

"The welcome arrival of Air India is another positive step towards that goal."

Amritsar is in the north west of the country in the Punjab and is a famous tourist location, known for its Golden Temple which is a holy site for the Sikh religion.

Mr O'Toole added: "India is an important and popular destination for UK residents, both for tourism and business interests. We look forward to working with Air India to make this route a great success and further improving the connectivity between London and India in the coming years."