Air India Express (AII), a low-cost carrier, will start operations between Calcutta and Singapore from October 7.

This is AII’s first operation from the city and it is planning to fly on more routes in southeast Asia soon, airline officials said on Sunday.

The Calcutta-Singapore flight will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, taking off at 7am. The return flight will take off from Changi airport at 2.40pm.

A Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a capacity of 185 passengers, will be deployed on the route. AII will be the second airline after Singapore Airlines to fly to Singapore from the city.

AII officials said passengers travelling on the inaugural flight will be offered a special fare of Rs 1,998, which will be inclusive of taxes. The return air fare from October 15 till the end of the month will be Rs 16,000 (with taxes).

The Singapore Tourism Board has tied up with the airline to provide special offers to the first 200 passengers.

According to tour operators, nearly 2,000 tourists visit Singapore every month from this part of the country. The number goes up considerably during the Puja.

“The demand will increase further this year because of the attractive fares,” said Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of Travel Agents Federation of India.