Air India has begun a phased restoration of its international flight schedule, with full resumption targeted for October 1, Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the gradual reinstatement of services from August 1, Wilson said the approach would ensure “every verification is completed thoroughly” before flights resume in full.
“I acknowledge there have been operational challenges over the past few weeks that may have impacted your travel experience. Rest assured, we take this seriously and are committed to strengthening our internal processes to minimise inconvenience,” Wilson said.
Five routes will see reinstated services or increased frequencies. Key changes include the full restoration of 24 weekly Delhi–London (Heathrow) flights from July 16, Delhi–Zurich rising from four to five flights per week from August 1, and full weekly services on Delhi–Tokyo (Haneda) and Delhi–Seoul (Incheon) to be reinstated in August and September, respectively. Delhi–Amsterdam returned to seven flights per week from August 1.
A new three-times-weekly Ahmedabad–London (Heathrow) service will replace the current five-times-weekly Gatwick flights. Delhi–Nairobi will operate thrice weekly until August 31, before being suspended for September.
Over 15 routes will continue at reduced frequencies until at least the end of September. Bengaluru–London (Heathrow) has been cut from seven to six flights weekly, further reducing to four from August 1.
Delhi–Paris drops to seven weekly from 12, starting August 1. Delhi–Milan reduces from four to three flights weekly from July 16, while Delhi–Copenhagen remains at three weekly from five. Delhi–Vienna remains at three weekly from four, and Amritsar–Birmingham operates two weekly until August 31 before returning to three. Delhi–Birmingham remains at two weekly.
North American services to Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and New York (JFK and Newark) remain reduced, with frequencies ranging from three to seven flights per week. Delhi–Melbourne and Delhi–Sydney continue at five weekly.
Four international routes remain suspended until September 30: Amritsar–London (Gatwick), Goa (Mopa)–London (Gatwick), Bengaluru–Singapore, and Pune–Singapore.
The reductions follow Air India’s announcement on June 18 that it would cut international services operated by widebody aircraft by 15 pc, prioritising safety and operational stability after the Ahmedabad crash of flight AI171.
“This decision has been taken to ensure stability of our operations, improve efficiency, and minimise inconvenience to passengers,” the airline said at the time. Over six days, 83 international flights were cancelled due to operational constraints.
Affected passengers were offered rebooking at no additional cost or a full refund.
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