Air India To Cut Nearly 100 Flights Till July As Jet Fuel Surge & Airspace Closures Deepen Losses

Mumbai: Air India will trim almost 100 of its domestic and international flights till July. The airline is already incurring losses due to rising jet fuel prices and airspace restrictions. Many overseas routes are too expensive to access. All these factors are weighing heavily on Air India.

Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson told employees on Friday that the company had already reduced certain overseas operations in April and May. He further stated that additional cuts will now extend into June and July because of deteriorating conditions.

"We have reduced some flying for April and May...massive rise in jet fuel prices which, together with airspace closures and longer flying routes, have caused many of our international flights to become unprofitable to operate," Wilson said in his message to staff.

According to ET, the company operates nearly 1,100 flights on a day-to-day basis and will reduce operations to Europe, North America, Australia, and Singapore in June. The airline was forced to divert flights on several international sectors due to airspace curbs caused by the conflict, increasing journey time and fuel burn. Wilson said that the combination of these factors has created an extremely difficult operating environment for the loss-making airline. He said there was now little alternative but to reduce schedules further through July.

"We very much regret the disruption to our customers' plans and our crew's rosters, and hope that the Middle East situation settles - and the Strait of Hormuz opens -soon so that we can get back to a more normal state," he said. Wilson has already announced that he will step down later this year.

Global average jet fuel prices surged to 179.46 dollars a barrel in the week ended April 24, an 80 percent jump from 99.40 dollars at the end of February. Air India Group is estimated to have posted a Rs 22,000 crore loss for the financial year ending March 31, 2026.