Air India has announced to cut international flights in June and August after jet fuel prices skyrocketed following the Iran war. Aviation experts said the airline would reduce about 140 flights per week, about 27% of all its international flights.
It will send fewer flights to Europe, North America, Australia and Asia during the peak summer travel period. European cities affected are expected to be Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. “These changes are aimed at improving network stability and reducing last-minute inconvenience to passengers,” Air India said in a statement.
The company, co-owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is India’s second-largest airline, with 3.4 million seats and 14% market share.
Air India Group is expected to post a loss of over Rs 22,000 crore (£1.7 million) in the financial year ending March 31, 2026.
He said: “We have reduced some flights for April and May…many of our international flights have become unprofitable to operate due to airspace closures and longer flight routes as well as the steep rise in jet fuel prices.”
Mr Wilson said the situation remained “extremely challenging”, leaving him “no choice” but to cut the schedule.
He explained: “The profitability of domestic flights has also been significantly impacted, but to a lesser extent, thanks to the government limiting domestic fuel price increases to 25%.
“We have increased airfares and imposed fuel surcharges, but these higher fares impact customer demand. We can only raise fares so much before people decide to stay home.”
The body said it is “completely unviable” to operate flights at the current fuel prices, noting that ATF pricing for international operations has increased by ₹73 crore (57p) per litre.
