Air India may reduce overseas flights due to losses and high fuel costs

Tata Group-owned Air India is likely to reduce its international flight operations after posting a loss of nearly Rs 20,000 crore in FY26, amidst rising aviation fuel costs, according to senior officials.

According to a travel industry source, a final decision is expected to be taken at a board meeting scheduled for early May. It has been decided to keep travel companies informed about any development in this regard.

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Air India is considering a 15% to 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 the flight rationalisation proposal is implemented, more than 100 flights could be affected, from roughly 1,100 services operated daily by the Air India Group. Currently, Air India operates more than 700 domestic and international flights every day.

International services are likely to see the deepest cuts, since rising fuel costs, longer flying hours and higher crew expenses have squeezed route profitability and aircraft utilisation on overseas routes.

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

Overseas flight operations to Europe and North America are most likely to form a substantial portion of the proposed reduction, even as the airline is also exploring temporary frequency reductions as well as timetable adjustments to improve cost efficiency without fully exiting key overseas markets.

The exercise is being presented as a network optimisation initiative rather than a rollback of expansion plans. While domestic operations may also see selective changes, the bulk of the impact is expected to fall on international routes, where cost pressures are higher, according to industry sources.