Regional airline Star Air on Saturday announced the launch of direct flights from Kolhapur to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Nagpur starting May 15, as part of its summer schedule expansion.Currently, the airline operates 16 weekly flights (direct and via) from Kolhapur to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Tirupati. With the addition of three new destinations, the number of cities served from Kolhapur will rise to seven, and weekly frequencies will increase to 28, the airline said as reported news agency PTI.As part of the upgrade, from May 15, Star Air will also replace its 50-seater Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft with 76-seater ERJ-175 aircraft featuring a business class cabin on the Mumbai-Kolhapur-Mumbai and Kolhapur-Ahmedabad-Kolhapur routes.The expansion aligns with the Kolhapur-headquartered Sanjay Ghodawat Group’s airline network growth strategy for the summer, the company said in a statement.Looking ahead, Star Air plans to operate 32 weekly flights from Kolhapur across seven destinations — Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Tirupati, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nagpur, and Kishangarh — starting June 3.“Our expansion from Kolhapur marks a strategic move to connect more regional centres. With our growing fleet, Star Air is poised to keep bridging the connectivity gap across India’s heartland,” said Captain Simran Singh Tiwana, CEO, Star Air.