Air India cuts narrowbody flights by 5%, suspends three routes till July

Air India to reduce frequencies on 19 routes and suspend three services until mid-July to maintain reliability amid safety audits and aircraft availability challenges

Three days after announcing a 15 per cent reduction in its international widebody operations, Air India on Sunday said it would curtail narrowbody services, both domestic and international, by about five per cent until mid-July.

 

The latest cuts include the suspension of three routes and a reduction in frequencies across 19 others, in a move the airline said was aimed at maintaining schedule reliability and minimising last-minute passenger disruption. The suspended services include daily international flights on the Bengaluru–Singapore and Pune–Singapore routes, along with the Mumbai–Bagdogra domestic route. All three routes operated seven times a week and will remain off the schedule until at least July 15.

   

The changes follow the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI171, which plunged into a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off for London, killing 241 people on board and 34 on the ground. The crash left just one survivor. On June 13, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced safety inspections of Air India’s fleet of 33 Boeing 787 aircraft. As a result, the airline last week suspended services on several long-haul international routes operated by widebody aircraft. 

 

According to Air India, its narrowbody schedule will see reduced frequencies on major trunk and secondary routes. On the Delhi–Mumbai sector, flights will reduce from 176 to 165 per week, while Delhi–Hyderabad services will drop from 84 to 76. Other key changes from Delhi include a cut on the Delhi–Kolkata route from 70 to 63 weekly flights, and Delhi–Indore from 21 to 14.

 

Both Goa airports will also see fewer services from Delhi: flights to Dabolim will reduce from 14 to 7, and those to Mopa from 14 to 7 per week. Delhi–Lucknow will drop from 28 to 21, Delhi–Pune from 59 to 54, and Delhi–Coimbatore from 13 to 12.

 

From Mumbai, several high-density routes are affected. Flights to Bengaluru will reduce from 91 to 84 per week, and to Hyderabad from 63 to 59. Mumbai–Kolkata will go from 42 to 30 weekly, and Mumbai–Kochi from 40 to 34. Other reductions include Mumbai–Ahmedabad (41 to 37), Mumbai–Coimbatore (21 to 16), Mumbai–Goa Dabolim (34 to 29), and Mumbai–Varanasi (12 to 7).

 

Despite the temporary curtailments, the airline will continue to operate close to 600 daily narrowbody flights on 120 domestic and short-haul international routes. Affected passengers are being contacted with options for rebooking, rescheduling or full refunds.

 

The airline said it remains committed to restoring its full schedule “as soon as practicable” while continuing to prioritise the safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft.

 

Air India had on June 19 said it continued to undertake voluntary pre-flight checks beyond mandatory requirements, in addition to dealing with longer flight durations caused by ongoing airspace closures in parts of the Middle East. These measures have strained aircraft availability and forced operational adjustments across both its widebody and narrowbody networks.

 

Amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East due to the Israel–Iran conflict, Air India on Sunday evening said it had taken further precautionary steps to ensure the safety of its operations. 

 

A spokesperson said the airline’s flights currently do not operate over the airspaces of Iran, Iraq and Israel. As a proactive measure, it will also begin progressively avoiding certain parts of the Persian Gulf airspace in the coming days.

 

This adjustment will affect flights to destinations including the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, and may result in extended flight durations. Some services to and from Europe and North America may also be impacted.

 

The airline said it is in constant consultation with external security advisers and is closely monitoring the situation. It added that additional measures will be implemented if required, and passengers will be kept informed of any updates.

 

“The safety and security of our passengers, staff, and aircraft remain our number one priority,” the spokesperson said.