Air India cuts international flights through August amid airspace curbs, high fuel costs

Air India will suspend and reduce flights on several international routes through August 2026 due to continued airspace restrictions and record-high jet fuel prices, the airline announced on Wednesday.

The Tata Group-owned carrier has temporarily suspended its Delhi-Chicago and Delhi-Shanghai services, while reducing frequencies on routes to San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore and Bangkok.

The airline has also suspended select routes such as Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka and Delhi-Malé through August.

In North America, Delhi-San Francisco flights have been reduced to seven per week from 10, while Delhi-Toronto services will be cut to five per week through July before returning to daily operations from August.

Delhi-Vancouver flights will be reduced to five a week from seven.

While Mumbai-Newark services will be increased to daily from three flights a week, Delhi-Newark and Mumbai-New York (JFK) services will remain suspended temporarily.

In Europe, Air India has cut frequencies on several routes, including Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, Vienna, Zurich and Rome.

Flights to Australia have also been reduced, with Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney services cut to four per week from daily.

In Asia and the SAARC region, the airline has reduced services to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kathmandu, Dhaka and Colombo.

The move comes as airlines globally grapple with longer flight paths and higher fuel costs caused by airspace closures amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Air India said it will proactively assist affected passengers with rebooking on alternate flights, free date changes or full refunds, as applicable.

“Air India continues to work closely with the regulators, airport authorities, and industry partners to restore full capacity as soon as conditions permit, but may make further adjustments to its network, should the extraordinary operating environment prevail,” it added.