Latest news with #internationalflights
Skift
12 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Air India Trims Long-Haul Services by 15%: These Routes are Affected
Air India has said it will restore the full international schedule as soon as it's safe and stable to do so. For now, it's focusing on keeping safety front and center. Skift's coverage of the Air India crash is offered free to all readers. Air India on Thursday night announced the list of international routes that it will be temporarily suspending or reducing as part of a 15% cut in its widebody operations. The changes, effective from June 21 to at least mid-July, impact long-haul flights to North America, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. The airline will pause some routes entirely, while others will see fewer weekly flights. Delhi–Nairobi, Amritsar–London Gatwick, Goa (Mopa)–London Gatwick are the three routes that the airline has paused until at least July 15. A long list of long-haul routes will operate at reduced frequency. These include: Delhi–Toronto is down from 13 to 7 flights a week. Delhi–Chicago will now run only 3 times weekly instead of 7. Delhi–Melbourne and Delhi–Sydney will now operate 5 flights a week. Delhi-Vancouver is down from 7 flights a week to 5. Delhi-San Francisco will now run only 7 times a week instead of 10. Other affected routes include Bengaluru-London (Heathrow) and Amritsar-Birmingham. From Delhi the routes to Washington (Dulles), London (Heathrow), Birmingham, Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Vienna, Amsterdam, Tokyo (Haneda) and Seoul (Incheon) will also see changes. Why This Is Happening Announcing the temporary route curtailment on Wednesday, the airline said the move was necessary after a series of disruptions following the June 12 crash and mounting challenges in global airspace. These include safety checks on its fleet, night-time flying restrictions in parts of Europe and East Asia, and detours due to the Middle East conflict. There have been 83 flight cancellations in the past six days. The airline said the temporary cuts would help ensure it has enough aircraft on standby for emergencies or schedule changes. On June 12, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, went down shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad. Out of 242 passengers, only one survived. It was the first fatal crash involving a 787, an aircraft with an otherwise strong safety record. In the aftermath, Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced safety inspections across Air India's 787 fleet. As of June 19, 26 of the 33 planes had been cleared. Checks on the rest are ongoing. On Tuesday night, DGCA said the surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet has not revealed "any major safety concerns" so far. The airline is also beginning extra safety checks on its Boeing 777 aircraft — another widebody model used on international routes. Middle East Airspace Closure Alongside safety checks, Air India is dealing with restricted airspace in parts of Europe and Asia. Tensions in the Middle East, especially the Israel-Iran conflict, have led to widespread rerouting. Pakistani airspace closure amid continuing diplomatic tensions between India and its neighbor has further complicated things. These disruptions are forcing longer flight paths. The airline also cited night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, adding to the strain. Other carriers, including IndiGo, have warned of delays and potential cancellations. What Passengers Should Know Following the temporary route curtailment, Air India said it will notify impacted passengers and give them options to reschedule without paying extra. Passengers will also be able to cancel and receive a full refund Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson, in a message to frequent flyers on Thursday acknowledged the disruptions. In the letter to members of its loyalty program Maharaja Club Wilson also shared details about the crash and why the airline is making these changes. He confirmed that the aircraft involved in the crash was well maintained and the last major check was completed in June 2023 with the next check scheduled for December 2025. 'Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,' Campbell said in the letter. He also reassured customers that the airline is conducting safety inspections on all similar planes. And more broadly, he addressed why the airline is scaling back, 'As a confidence-building measure, we have elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks… This will also allow us to have more backup aircraft ready to handle any unexpected issues.'
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Air India Cuts International Flights After Crash Causes Chaos
Air India, India's flagship carrier, said it would temporarily reduce the number of international flights it operates, after the deadly crash of one of its flights last week unleashed plane delays, unnerved passengers and prompted technical inspections of its fleet. The airline, which is grappling with the aftermath of the June 12 crash that killed at least 270 people, said late Wednesday in a post on X that it was cutting international services on certain planes by 15 percent at least until mid-July. The move, which applies to wide-body jets — planes with two aisles that are typically used for long-haul flights — is meant to 'ensure stability of operations, better efficiency and minimize inconvenience to passengers,' it said. Air India's decision came a day after Indian authorities directed the airline to improve its operations. The airline has been inundated by complaints from passengers about canceled flights, faulty cabin devices and inadequate information being given to travelers. Company officials said the closure of airspace over Iran because of its conflict with Israel, which made flying routes longer, only added to the disruption. On Tuesday, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country's main civil flight regulator, said in a statement that it found no 'major safety concerns' as it conducted technical inspections of Air India's fleet of 33 Boeing's 787 Dreamliner planes. That was the model of plane that crashed less than a minute after it took off from the Indian city of Ahmedabad, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, last week. So far, 26 of the airline's planes have been cleared, Air India said. However, the regulator did find 'maintenance-related issues' and directed the carrier to 'strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units.' It also recommended that the airline improve its communications with passengers and build a better system to share real-time information about plane defects internally. With a fleet of 128 planes, Air India operates around 1,000 flights daily, including to dozens of overseas destinations. One of its most popular routes is a nonstop flight from Delhi to New York. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Air India Cuts Foreign Widebody Flights by 15% After Crash
By Updated on Save Air India is reducing its international service using widebody planes by 15% as the nation's flag carrier grapples with the fallout from a fatal Boeing Co. 787 crash last week and an Israel-Iran clash in the Middle East. The cuts will be rolled out through June 20 and will continue until at least mid-July, the carrier said in a press release on Wednesday. The airline also said it would undertake one-time safety inspections across its Boeing 777 fleet as 'a matter of added precaution.'
CNA
11-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Vietnam Airlines signs $1.5 billion funding deal with ING
HANOI :Vietnam Airlines said on Wednesday it has signed a non-binding funding agreement of up to $1.5 billion with ING to support plans to accelerate the expansion of its international flight network.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Springs Airport celebrates as first international flight to Cancún takes off
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Colorado Springs Airport (COS) celebrated the launch of international flights between Colorado Springs and Cancún, Mexico (CUN), on Saturday, June 7. The first flight departed at 11:40 a.m. on Saturday, and the weekly service will operate through Southwest Airlines on Saturdays throughout the summer, with additional flights scheduled for the holiday season on November 22 and 29, December 20 and 27, and January 3, 2026. 'This flight marks a historic moment for both our airport and the community we proudly serve, as COS becomes an international airport,' said Alex Kovacs, Acting Director of Aviation at Colorado Springs Airport. 'The launch of international service with Southwest Airlines… enhances the speed and convenience our passengers expect from COS.' The event was celebrated with speakers, cultural performances, and a festive sendoff. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
