Air India cuts June-August international flights by 37% as airspace curbs, fuel spike hurt

New Delhi: Air India plans to operate around 37% fewer international flights between June and August compared with April, as prolonged airspace restrictions and soaring aviation fuel prices amid the West Asia war weigh on their viability. The sharp reduction adds to the mounting operational and financial challenges for the Tata Group carrier.

The airline has cut its planned international departures to around 1,240 a month for each of the three months, down sharply from 1,987 in April, UK-based aviation analytics firm OAG's data, reviewed by Mint, shows. As of now, its scheduled international departures for May are at 2,072.

In a statement on Wednesday, the airline said route rationalization was being undertaken due to continued airspace restrictions “over certain regions” and record-high jet fuel prices for international operations that had significantly hurt the “commercial viability of certain planned services”.

While Air India did not disclose the exact scale of reductions, it said it would continue operating over 1,200 international flights every month between June and August.

“The airline will restore full capacity as soon as conditions permit,” Air India said, adding that it “may make further adjustments to its network should the extraordinary operating environment prevail”.

The service curtailment comes after more than a year of operational disruptions and rising costs for the carrier.

First, the closure of Pakistani airspace since April 2025 has forced longer flying times to West Asia, costing the airline an estimated ₹4,000 crore. Then, in June 2025, a London-bound Air India flight crash that killed 260 people brought the airline under heightened regulatory scrutiny and forced reductions in international operations.

Fresh disruptions came up late February, when the US-Iran war triggered further airspace closures, increasing flight durations and fuel burn. At the same time, international operating costs rose sharply, with aviation turbine fuel prices in India almost doubling. Air India has sought government relief on jet fuel costs, though no reduction has yet been announced for airlines operating international services.

The airline is also navigating a leadership transition after chief executive Campbell Wilson resigned end March and entered his notice period. The airline is yet to name a successor.

Air India posted a consolidated net loss of over ₹10,000 crore in FY25. It is yet to announce the FY26 earnings.

For Europe, the flight frequencies to Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, Vienna, Zurich and Rome will be cut by roughly one-third, it said. And for Australia, it will reduce services to Melbourne and Sydney by 43%.

In Asia, the carrier has suspended services to China and Maldives from Delhi, Bangladesh from Mumbai, and Singapore from Chennai. Other routes—including Delhi–Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, Ho Chi Minh City, Colombo and Bangkok—will see reductions of 35–36% over the three-month period.

“Air India is following a very standard practice of curtailing loss-making routes to manage finances. Some routes such as Chicago, Newark and San Francisco are legacy ones that never made money," said Mark D. Martin, chief executive at aviation analytics firm, Martin Consulting. "However, despite this curtailment, it is unlikely that there would be an immediate impact on their losses. It will still take 12-months to get their numbers back.”