- Hindi News
- Business
- Air India Cancels 6 International Flights Till August Amid High Fuel Prices
New Delhi22 minutes ago
- copy link
Amidst the worldwide economic crisis caused by the US-Iran war, Air India has decided to cut down on its international flights. The airline announced on Wednesday that it will temporarily cancel services on six overseas routes from June to August.
This also includes busy routes like Delhi-Chicago and Mumbai-New York. Tata Group’s airline company said that due to restrictions on flights over some countries and rising prices of jet fuel, flying on these routes is proving to be a loss-making deal.
Services will remain closed on these 6 routes
- Delhi-Chicago (America)
- Mumbai-New York (America)
- Delhi-Shanghai (China)
- Chennai-Singapore
- Mumbai-Dhaka (Bangladesh)
- Delhi-Malé (Maldives)
America-Iran war and expensive oil spoiled the mathematics
Due to the Iran-America war, many countries have restricted their airspace, due to which flights have to take long detours. This has increased fuel consumption. At the same time, due to the rise in crude oil prices in the global market, the prices of aviation fuel (ATF) have reached record levels. It was becoming difficult for loss-making Air India to continue these expensive routes.
Crude oil became costlier by 45.5% in two and a half months
Due to the ongoing war between America and Iran, crude oil prices have increased by 45.5% since February 28. However, the government had capped the increase in ATF prices for domestic flights at 25%. Due to this, oil companies (OMCs) increased domestic ATF prices by only 9.2% in April, but this increase was much higher for international operations.
Airlines’ fuel expenses increased from 40% to 60%
According to the FIA, the huge fuel price gap between the international and domestic sectors has made the airlines’ network financially unsustainable. Earlier, the share of fuel in the total operational expenses of airlines was 40%, which has increased to 60%.
1,200 flights will continue every month
Air India said that despite the huge cuts, it will continue to operate more than 1,200 international flights every month. These routes include:
- North America: 33 flights per week.
- Europe and UK: Total 104 flights per week.
- South East Asia and SAARC countries: 158 flights per week.
- Australia and Africa: 8 and 7 flights per week respectively.
Big challenge for Tata Group
Let us tell you that Air India has registered a record loss of Rs 220 billion in the financial year ending March 31. The company is looking for new leadership following the resignation of CEO Campbell Wilson. This cut is part of the same cost-cutting plan, under which there was recent discussion of cutting the salaries of top officials and sending non-technical staff on leave.
3 big reasons for increasing losses
Middle East War: Due to Iran-Israel tension, Air India now has to take longer routes to western countries (Europe/America). Due to this, the flight time has increased by 1.5 to 2 hours, due to which fuel worth crores of rupees is being burnt.
Investment: Tata Group is ordering new planes and completely revamping the cabins of old planes to revamp the airline. The impact of this big investment is currently visible in the form of losses on the balance sheet.
Operational Cost: Air India has many old Boeing aircraft whose spare parts and maintenance cost a lot. Besides, a lot of funds are also being spent in the legal processes of the merger with Singapore Airlines.
—————-
Read this also…
Air India will cut the salary of VP level officers: Preparation to cancel 20% of flights due to Iran war, company will send non-technical staff on leave
Tata Group’s airline company Air India may cut the salaries of its employees and reduce the number of flights by about 20% to reduce its costs. Currently the airline operates around 900 flights every day.
The company is preparing to take this step due to increase in operating costs due to cost of jet fuel due to the Middle East war. Let us tell you that the airline is already in loss and is looking for its new CEO. Read the full news…
——————
Rupee fell to all time low against dollar: Price of 1 dollar became Rs 95.74, due to which there is a danger of inflation increasing.
Today, on May 13, the rupee has fallen by 25 paise to a record low of 95.75 against the dollar. Earlier on Tuesday also the rupee had reached all time low of 95.50. There has been a continuous decline in the rupee for the last few days.
The rupee has been under pressure since the beginning of 2026. Last year, in December 2025, the rupee had crossed the 90 level for the first time. Due to this the risk of inflation increasing has increased. Read the full news…
Source link
[ad_3]
