Akasa Air, India's third-largest airline, is strategically deploying aircraft capacity from suspended West Asia routes to Hajj travel operations. According to reports from Mint, approximately five to six airplanes that were previously used on West Asia routes are now being utilized for Hajj travel. Flights to and from Doha, Riyadh and Kuwait have been suspended until 30 April, while the airline continues operating flights to Jeddah from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kochi and Kozhikode. Akasa is also evaluating the resumption of flights to Abu Dhabi.
The West Asia conflict is creating a broader shift in Indian travel patterns beyond Akasa's operations. According to The Times of India, travelers are actively choosing destinations accessible via direct routes or Asian hubs, driving a 20-28% surge in demand for Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. The UAE, which traditionally accounted for nearly 35% of India's outbound travel, has seen widespread cancellations. As William E. Heinecke, founder and chairman of Minor International, told ET, "People aren't really stopping travel. They are rearranging and postponing it." The trend is being reinforced by rising airfares in Europe, where the International Energy Agency flags potential jet fuel shortages in coming weeks.
India is set to commence talks with Southeast Asian nations including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia to increase flights, as the West Asia conflict has narrowed expansion opportunities for Indian carriers. According to ET, the decision to initiate government-level discussions was made at an inter-ministerial meeting in March. Indian airlines are hit hard by the West Asia conflict as multiple major airports in the region are either shut or operating with heavily curtailed capacity. The region is critical for airlines like IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, as around 40% of their international capacity is deployed there. A new agreement allows airlines from India and Indonesia to deploy 9,000 seats per week from each side, connecting Jakarta and Denpasar (Bali) with Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Domestic leisure travel is experiencing significant momentum amid international disruptions. According to ixigo, Udaipur is seeing a 69% year-on-year rise in flight bookings, followed by Jodhpur (47%), Bagdogra (44%), Srinagar (41%), and Agartala (38%). For international travel this month, Asian destinations have recorded strong surge in bookings, with Vietnam emerging as the top international destination with a 130% year-on-year increase in bookings, followed by Nepal (88%), Sri Lanka (68%), Indonesia (33%), Singapore (32%), and Thailand (22%).
