Air India said May 13 it will suspend a number of international routes and reduce service on many others during the June-August period, citing airspace restrictions and high fuel costs.
Routes suspended for the three-month period include services from Delhi to Chicago O’Hare and Newark, as well as Male, Maldives, and Singapore. Service will also be suspended from Mumbai to Dhaka, Bangladesh and New York John F. Kennedy. Flights between Chennai and Singapore will also be dropped for the three-month period.
“The adjustments have been made in response to a combination of factors, including continued airspace restrictions over certain regions and record high jet fuel prices for international operations, which significantly impact the commercial viability of certain planned services,” Air India said. “These changes are aimed at improving network stability and reducing last-minute inconvenience to passengers.”
There are also notable frequency reductions on North American routes: Delhi-San Francisco (10X-weekly to daily); Delhi-Toronto (10X-weekly to 5X-weekly through July, increasing to daily in August; and Delhi-Vancouver (daily to 5X-weekly).
European route frequency reductions include lowering Delhi-Paris Charles de Gaulle service from 2X-daily to daily.
Delhi service to both Melbourne and Sydney will drop from daily to 4X-weekly.
In Asia, Delhi-Singapore flights will be lowered from 24X-weekly to 2X-daily, while Mumbai-Singapore service will be dropped from 2X-daily to daily. Delhi-Bangkok flights will be lowered from 4X-daily to 3X-daily for July and August, while Mumbai-Bangkok flights will drop from 13X-weekly to daily for July and August. Delhi-Kuala Lumpur service will be cut from from 10X-weekly to 5X-weekly for the three-month period.
Delhi-Ho Chi Minh City service will drop from daily to 4X-weekly in July and August, while Delhi-Kathmandu flights will drop from 6X-daily to 4X-daily in June, and then to 3X-daily in July and August.
Air India said it “continues to work closely with the regulators, airport authorities, and industry partners to restore full capacity as soon as conditions permit, but may make further adjustments to its network, should the extraordinary operating environment prevail.”
The airline noted it will still operate over 1,200 international flights per month during the June-August period.
Related Content
