Air India Announces Temporary Flight Reductions: What You Need to Know

Air India Flight Reductions Amid Operational Challenges

New Delhi: On Sunday, Air India announced a temporary reduction of 118 weekly flights utilizing narrow-body aircraft across 19 routes, alongside the suspension of services on three specific routes.

This decision represents approximately 5% of the airline's total narrow-body operations and is intended to maintain operational stability following the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12.

The affected routes are entirely domestic, while the three suspended routes include two international and one domestic service.

This announcement follows the Tata Group-owned airline's earlier decision to reduce international flights operated with wide-body aircraft by 15% on a temporary basis.

In their statement, Air India indicated that the adjustments involve a voluntary reduction of less than 5% to its overall narrow-body network.

"This voluntary decision results in the temporary suspension of services on three routes and frequency reductions on 19 routes, effective until at least July 15, 2025," the airline stated.

Specifically, seven weekly flights on the Bengaluru-Singapore, Pune-Singapore, and Mumbai-Bagdogra routes have been suspended until at least mid-July.

Additionally, flights on several other routes, including Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Mumbai, have seen frequency reductions.

For instance, the Bengaluru-Chandigarh route will now have seven weekly services, while Delhi-Bengaluru will operate 113 flights, and Delhi-Mumbai will have 165 flights.

Other routes experiencing cuts include Delhi-Kolkata (63 flights), Delhi-Coimbatore (12 flights), and both Delhi-Goa (Dabolim and Mopa) routes (seven flights each).

The weekly flights on the Delhi-Hyderabad route have been reduced to 76, with similar reductions on routes from Delhi to Indore (14), Lucknow (21), and Pune (54).

In Mumbai, the Ahmedabad route will now have 37 flights, Bengaluru will have 84, and Kolkata will have 30 weekly flights.

Moreover, the Mumbai-Coimbatore route will see a reduction to 16 flights, while Mumbai-Kochi will have 34, Mumbai-Goa (Dabolim) will have 29, Mumbai-Hyderabad will have 59, and Mumbai-Varanasi will have seven.

Despite these temporary reductions, Air India will continue to operate nearly 600 daily flights with its narrow-body aircraft across 120 domestic and short-haul international routes.

The airline emphasized that these reductions are designed to enhance operational stability across its network and minimize last-minute disruptions for passengers.

Air India has also expressed regret to passengers impacted by these flight changes, offering options for re-accommodation on alternative flights, complimentary rescheduling, or full refunds.

On June 19, Air India had previously announced a cut of 38 international flights per week and the suspension of three overseas routes from June 21 to July 15.