A ROUTE REINSTATED, NOT LAUNCHED

SAS has announced that all operational and practical preparations are in place for its year-round nonstop service between Copenhagen and Mumbai, with flights on sale across all channels and operations beginning on 1 October 2026. The route will operate five times weekly with an Airbus A330 configured for 266 seats, and reconnects Scandinavia and India after a 17-year gap in SAS service to the country.

Paul Verhagen, Chief Commercial Officer at SAS, said the airline was thrilled to welcome passengers on the new nonstop service to Mumbai, describing the route as an extraordinary milestone opening doors between Scandinavia and one of the world’s most dynamic economic hubs. He noted that as SAS marks 80 years of international travel, reconnecting the two regions was a proud moment for the airline.

COPENHAGEN AS THE CONNECTING POINT

The commercial logic runs through Copenhagen rather than terminating there. SAS states the service strengthens the airport’s role as an international gateway, offering connections to European and long-haul destinations including New York, Boston and Toronto. Timings support that: the outbound departs Copenhagen at 16:10 arriving Mumbai at 04:30 the following day, while the return departs Mumbai at 06:30 arriving Copenhagen at 12:15, a midday arrival that feeds afternoon transatlantic departures rather than stranding connecting passengers overnight.

Mumbai is India’s financial capital and the traffic mix on the route reflects both business demand and the substantial movement between India and Northern Europe for study, family and tourism. A five-weekly frequency on a 266-seat widebody is a measured re-entry: sufficient to establish the market and support connecting flows, without the capacity commitment of a daily operation into a market the airline has been absent from for nearly two decades.

ROUTE DETAIL

The service operates as SK969 and SK970. Copenhagen departures run on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Mumbai departures run on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the first Mumbai departure on 3 October. SAS notes its punctuality record in support of the launch – the airline was named Europe’s most punctual carrier in Cirium’s on-time performance report for July 2026 with an 84.32 per cent on-time arrival rate, achieved during the most operationally demanding month of the year, and has held seven number-one European rankings and four global rankings over the past two years.