As part of its first planned entry into India, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will resume non-stop flights between Copenhagen and Mumbai on June 2, 2026, reviving a long-dormant air corridor between Scandinavia and Western India.
Following Finnair’s 2023 suspension of its Mumbai–Helsinki service, which cut off Mumbai from Scandinavia, the five-times-weekly Airbus A330-300 service will provide business and leisure travellers with a direct, hassle-free route into India’s financial capital.
For nearly two years, travellers from Northern Europe have been forced to rely on one-stop connections via Frankfurt, Doha, Istanbul, or Delhi in order to reach Mumbai. The SAS route not only avoids that detour but also strategically serves a growing number of corporates and time-sensitive business travellers who require quick, direct access to the nation’s commercial engine.
An SAS spokesperson stated that Mumbai serves as a gateway to the nation’s economic centre and that India is a significant growth market. “This route strengthens Copenhagen as a Northern European transit hub and reaffirms our focus on high-demand global destinations.”
Flight SK969 is scheduled to depart Copenhagen at 1:10 p.m. local time and arrive in Mumbai at 1:30 a.m. IST the next day. With a departure time of 6:00 a.m. IST from Mumbai and a landing time of 11:45 a.m. Copenhagen, the return flight SK970 is scheduled to provide smooth connections throughout SAS’s Northern European and transatlantic networks, which include cities such as Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, and New York.
The action comes after SAS made a post-restructuring change of direction after leaving the Star Alliance and attracting new investors, such as the Danish government and Air France-KLM. The airline is now focusing on rapidly developing international markets like India in addition to its traditional focus on Europe and the United States.
India is expected to become the third-largest aviation market by 2026, with over 29 million Indians travelling abroad in 2023, so SAS is entering the market at a critical juncture. Long-distance travel to Indian metro areas is becoming more and more popular, especially among Indian students, business travellers, and high-end leisure visitors.
Mumbai, which has long been overlooked on the Scandinavian map, now has its first direct flight to the region in a long time. As corporate ties between Europe and India grew, Finnair’s gap grew more acute, particularly in the tech, pharmaceutical, design, and renewable energy sectors where Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are becoming more active.
SAS provides a quicker, more seamless option for Indian travellers, particularly those travelling to Scandinavia and the Baltics, without requiring stops at congested hubs in Europe or the Middle East.
Scandinavian tourism boards have been actively courting Indian tourists. This new route could further accelerate the 31% increase in arrivals from India that Denmark saw in 2024 compared to a decade ago.
After Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Beirut, and Tel Aviv, SAS now has six Asian destinations with this Mumbai route. According to analysts, the action might encourage other European airlines to re-evaluate the India opportunity, which could lead to the opening of more Nordic–India connections soon.
