Air India mulls broad flight cuts amid high fuel costs

Tata Group-owned Air India is weighing a significant scale-back of its flight operations after reportedly posting a loss of nearly Rs 20,000 crore in FY26, amid persistent operational headwinds and elevated aviation fuel costs, businessline newspaper reported on Thursday quoting industry sources.

According to people familiar with the matter, the airline is assessing a 15-20% reduction in its flight schedule, though the overall cut across the Air India Group is expected to be relatively lower, in the range of 10-15%. If implemented, the proposed rationalisation could affect over 100 flights from the roughly 1,100 services operated daily by the Air India Group. On a standalone basis, Air India currently runs more than 700 domestic and international flights each day.

Air India has not made any public statement on the news.

Industry executives said the move could tighten capacity and push up fares during the upcoming peak travel season, the report said.

International services are likely to see the deepest cuts, sources told the publication, as rising fuel costs, longer flying times, and higher crew expenses have squeezed route profitability and aircraft utilisation on overseas sectors.

The airline has been reassessing capacity deployment across its network, particularly on long-haul international routes, where extended block hours have eroded productivity and weighed on overall operating economics.

Routes to Europe and North America are expected to form a substantial portion of the recalibration, with sources indicating that the airline is exploring temporary frequency reductions and timetable adjustments to improve cost efficiency without fully exiting key markets.

Internally, the exercise is being presented as a network optimisation initiative rather than a rollback of expansion plans, people aware of the discussions told businessline.

While domestic operations may also see selective changes, the bulk of the impact is expected to fall on international routes, where cost pressures are sharper and turnaround economics have become increasingly challenging.

A final decision on the proposed cuts is expected to be taken at an upcoming board meeting scheduled for early May, according to sources.

Source: NDTV
-- Agencies