Air India has declared a temporary cut in its international flight services due to heightened pre-flight safety measures and extended flight times caused by airspace restrictions in the Middle East. The airline announced on Thursday night that it will temporarily suspend or reduce its international routes as part of a 15% cut in widebody operations. Some routes will be completely paused, while others will experience a reduced number of weekly flights. This adjustment will be implemented from June 21 until at least July 15, with the intention of enhancing schedule reliability and reducing last-minute changes.
Air India will suspend three international routes during this period: Delhi-Nairobi (Flight 962), Amritsar-London Gatwick (Flight 170), and Goa (Mopa)-London Gatwick (Flight 146). Additionally, there will be a reduction in flight frequency on several routes to North America and Europe.
For North America, Air India will implement the following changes:
Delhi to Toronto: Reduced from 13 flights per week to 7.
Delhi to Vancouver: Decreased from 7 flights to 5.
Delhi to San Francisco: Cut from 10 flights to 7.
Delhi to Chicago: Reduced from 7 flights to 3.
Delhi to Washington D.C. (Dulles): Trimmed from 5 flights to 3.
In Europe, the changes will include:
Delhi to London Heathrow: Reduced from 24 flights weekly to 22.
Bengaluru to London Heathrow: Cut from 7 flights to 6.
Amritsar/Delhi to Birmingham: Reduced from 3 flights to 2.
Delhi to Paris: Now 12 flights weekly, down from 14.
Delhi to Milan: Decreased from 7 flights to 4.
Delhi to Copenhagen: Reduced from 5 flights to 3.
Delhi to Vienna and Delhi to Amsterdam: Slightly cut in frequency.
Air India's route reductions also apply to destinations in Australia and the Far East, including cuts on Delhi-Melbourne, Delhi-Sydney, Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda), and Delhi-Seoul (Incheon).
Air India has announced its intention to restore its full international flight schedule as soon as it is considered safe and stable to do so. In the meantime, the airline is contacting affected passengers to provide alternative flight options, complimentary rescheduling, or full refunds. Updated flight schedules can be found on the airline's website, app, and through its contact centres.
Air India said that the move was due to a series of disruptions following the aircraft incident on June 12 and the escalating difficulties in global airspace. These difficulties encompass safety inspections on its fleet, nighttime flying restrictions in certain regions of Europe and East Asia, and detours resulting from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Over the last six days only, there have been a total of 83 flight cancellations. The airline indicated that these temporary reductions would help guarantee that there are sufficient aircraft available for emergencies or changes to the schedule.