According to reports from Business Standard and Firstpost, Air India will cut more than 120 weekly international flights across around 30 routes between June and August as the ongoing Iran-linked West Asia conflict and record-high jet fuel prices continue to disrupt global aviation operations. The Tata Group-owned carrier announced the temporary network rationalisation aimed at improving network stability and reducing last-minute inconvenience to passengers amid prolonged airspace restrictions over certain regions and sharply higher operating costs that have made several long-haul routes commercially unviable.
As reported by Business Standard and Firstpost, the airline has temporarily suspended seven international services including Delhi-Chicago, Delhi-Shanghai, Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka, Delhi-Malé, Delhi-Newark, and Mumbai-New York (JFK). In North America, Delhi-San Francisco flights have been reduced from 10 weekly services to seven through August, while Delhi-Toronto flights will fall from 10 weekly services to five until July before returning to daily operations in August. Delhi-Vancouver services have been reduced from seven weekly flights to five, and Mumbai-Newark flights will increase from three weekly services to daily operations. The airline has also temporarily suspended Delhi-Newark and Mumbai-New York (JFK) operations.
According to Business Standard and Firstpost, Delhi-Paris flights have been cut from 14 weekly services to seven, Delhi-Copenhagen flights will reduce from four weekly services to three, Delhi-Milan from five to four, and Delhi-Vienna, Delhi-Zurich, and Delhi-Rome routes from four weekly services each to three. In the Asia-Pacific region, Delhi-Singapore flights will reduce from 24 weekly services to 14, while Mumbai-Singapore flights will fall from 14 weekly services to seven. Delhi-Bangkok services will reduce from 28 weekly flights to 21 from July, and Delhi-Kuala Lumpur flights will reduce from 10 weekly services to five. Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka, and Delhi-Malé services have been suspended through August.
As reported by Business Standard, rating agency Icra revised its outlook on the Indian aviation sector to 'negative' from 'stable' in a March 27 report, citing the West Asia conflict's impact on airline operations. Icra warned that the Indian aviation industry's net losses could widen sharply to ₹17,000-18,000 crore in 2025-26 from around ₹5,500 crore in 2024-25. ATF is the single-largest expense item for airlines and typically accounts for around 40 per cent of an Indian carrier's operating costs, with the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar worsening the situation as many airline expenses are linked to the dollar. The escalating conflict in Western Asia has triggered soaring aviation turbine fuel prices and longer flight paths due to restricted airspace over parts of the Middle East and surrounding regions have increased fuel burn and operational costs.
According to Business Standard and Firstpost, despite these reductions, Air India will continue operating more than 1,200 international flights every month across five continents. The airline will retain 33 weekly flights to North America, 47 to Europe, 57 to the UK, eight to Australia, 158 to the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region, and seven weekly services to Mauritius. Affected passengers will be offered re-accommodation on alternative feasible Air India flights, free date changes, or full refunds, as applicable, while the airline works closely with regulators and industry partners to restore full capacity as conditions permit. The airline added that it may undertake further network adjustments if the extraordinary operating environment continues.
