Air India has announced it’s cutting international flights in June and August after the Iran war sent the price of jet fuel skyrocketing. The airline will slash nearly 140 flights per week, working out at roughly 27% of all its international flights, aviation experts said.
It will send fewer flights to Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia during the peak summer travel period. The affected European cities are expected to be Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, Rome, Vienna, and Zurich. Air India said in a statement: “These changes are aimed at improving network stability and reducing last-minute inconvenience to passengers.”
The company, co-owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is India’s second-largest airline, making up 3.4 million seats and a 14% share of the market.
Air India Group is estimated to have incurred over 22,000 crore (£1.7 million) losses in the financial year ended March 31, 2026.
He said: “We have reduced some flying for April and May… A massive rise in jet fuel prices, together with airspace closures and longer flying routes, has caused many of our international flights to become unprofitable to operate.”
Mr Wilson added that the situation remains “extremely challenging”, leaving them “no choice” but to slash schedules.
He explained: “The profitability of domestic flights has also been significantly affected, but to a lesser degree, thanks to the government’s limitation of the domestic fuel price rise 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 stated that operating flights at current fuel prices is “completely unviable”, noting that ATF pricing for international operations had increased by 73 crore (57p) per litre.
