February 19, 2006: India out, China in. This is the state of affairs at Air Canada’s headquarters. The Canadian national airline's decision to stop the country's only direct flights between Canada and India in favour of expanding service to China has come in for flak.

The Indian-Canadian business community is spearheading the protest. Air Canada had said that it would be discontinuing all direct flights between Toronto and New Delhi by early May. The airline is the only daily non-stop flights between Canada and India at the moment.

The Indian-Canadian business community tagged the move as shortsighted and that seats would soon be filled due to India's booming economy. Saying that the air connectivity between Toronto and New Delhi is in fact a bridge between the two countries, the Canada-India Business Council said that it is unfortunate that it has been snapped.

Air Canada has in the meanwhile announced adding a second daily flight to Beijing from Vancouver. This apart, it would also increase the regularity of its Toronto-Shanghai route. The planes for the new flights are being diverted from the Toronto-India route, said a report.