Air India announced their first direct Delhi-Toronto flight, which will launch on Sept. 27 in honour of World Tourism Day.

The travel time should be between 16 to 20 hours, based on the most direct currently available flight times. The cost has not yet been announced.

I am glad I was able to help in fulfilling this long pending demand of citizens of Guru Nagri & devotees who travel from North Americas to pay obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib, Durgiyana Mandir & other holy places.

This flight will mark an auspicious beginning of a new journey. pic.twitter.com/PcMCHCcLRu

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 14, 2019

A new Amristar-Delhi-Toronto flight was also announced this week and will launch on Sept. 27, travelling three times a week.

This announcement comes at a transformative time for the airline. The state-owned carrier is $8.4 billion in debt and the government is considering selling Air India this year.

This debt is in large part because of the competition with cheap airlines, like SpiceJet. Perhaps Air India is attempting an entirely different strategy to solve their problems by offering new, long distance flights.

The airline is also hoping to launch a direct flight to Nairobi, Kenya in October.