Air India, IndiGo, and Air India Express are temporarily reducing their domestic flights by 10 to 22 per cent 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.
Impact of rising fuel costs on flight operations
Faced with spiralling costs, Air India, IndiGo and Air India Express have also resorted to rationalisation of domestic routes for the coming months.
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Officials said Air India is cutting 20-22 per cent of its domestic flights for June and July, and Air India Express is reducing 10 per cent 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 per cent 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’s response to operational challenges
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 per cent of the domestic flights would be reduced.
Based on the around 3,600 weekly domestic flights, the 22 per cent 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 and IndiGo adjust flight schedules
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 per cent,” the airline said in a release.
