Less flights, costlier tickets: AI, IndiGo, AI Express cut domestic flights amid rising fuel costs

New Delhi/ Mumbai: Air India, IndiGo, and Air India Express are temporarily reducing their domestic flights by 10 to 22 percent in the coming months, as the airlines seek to deal with the impact of surging jet fuel prices and relatively lower travel demand, according to officials.

In the wake of the West Asia conflict, which started in late February, airlines have been facing multiple headwinds, including costlier fuel and airspace curbs, which pushed up their operational costs.

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Faced with spiralling costs, Air India, IndiGo and Air India Express have also resorted to rationalisation of domestic routes for the coming months.

Officials said Air India is cutting 20-22 percent of its domestic flights for June and July, and Air India Express is reducing 10 percent of the domestic services for June.

In the case of Air India and Air India Express, flight reductions are compared to the planned services in the summer schedule for the respective months.

IndiGo is cutting 12-15 percent of domestic flights for the September quarter, and this is in comparison to the planned services in the summer schedule for the given quarter, officials said.

They noted that the rationalisation of domestic flights has been mainly driven by higher fuel prices and lower demand.

Air India operates around 4,400 weekly flights. Out of them, about 3,600 are domestic, and 800 are international services.

"In continuation of our previously announced adjustments to select international services between June and August 2026, we have temporarily rationalised operations on certain domestic routes during the same period, with a reduction in frequencies on select routes," Air India said in a statement on Wednesday.

The officials said 20-22 percent of the domestic flights would be reduced.

Based on the around 3,600 weekly domestic flights, the 22 percent cut would result in a reduction of more than 790 weekly services.

The airline said these adjustments are driven by the sustained impact of high fuel prices on overall operations.

"Air India will continue to monitor demand and operating conditions closely, with a view to restoring frequencies as conditions stabilise," it said in the statement.

Air India Express said it has been making calibrated adjustments to optimise its network and align capacity with changes in demand.

"The impact on domestic frequencies is less than 10 percent," the airline said in a release.

The airline operates around 3,000 weekly flights, and out of them, around 2,400 are domestic services.

A 10 percent cut based on these numbers would mean a reduction of about 240 flights.

The carrier, which has a significant presence in the West Asia sector, said it has been progressively restoring connectivity between India and West Asia, and also introducing new routes across its domestic and international network.

Air India Express said it operates around 500 weekly flights between India and West Asia, up significantly from around 280 weekly flights just a few weeks ago, with services restored progressively across 11 airports in the region.

"Overall, the airline operates more than 3,000 weekly flights across its network spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia," the airline said.

Further, Air India Express said this balanced and agile approach enables it to deploy capacity efficiently while continuing to strengthen meaningful connectivity across key domestic and international destinations.

Officials said IndiGo operates around 15,400 weekly flights, and out of them, about 13,000 are domestic services.

A reduction of 15 percent would mean a cut of around 2,000 weekly services.

An IndiGo official said it has reduced services considering the slowdown in demand and seasonal adjustment, which is done every year from mid-June to August.

There were no comments from IndiGo, Akasa Air and SpiceJet on the rationalisation of flights.

On Wednesday, Air India also said that passengers impacted by these changes will be proactively assisted with re-accommodation on alternative flights, complimentary date changes, or full refunds, as applicable.

Meanwhile, on May 13, Air India announced it would be reducing international flights during the June-August period.

The airline would cut nearly 100 overseas flights and temporarily suspend services on seven routes, including Delhi-Chicago, which will result in up to 27 percent reduction in its international capacity.

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The carrier will be temporarily suspending services on Delhi-Chicago, Delhi-Newark, Mumbai-New York, Delhi-Shanghai, Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka, and Delhi-Male routes till August.

While announcing the rationalisation of services, Air India, on May 13, also said it "may make further adjustments to its network, should the extraordinary operating environment prevail".

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