Air India trims domestic flights by up to 22% this summer

Air India will temporarily reduce its domestic flight operations by up to 22 percent over the summer, the airline confirmed Wednesday, citing sustained high fuel prices as the primary driver. The move follows a similar 27 percent reduction in international services announced earlier this month.

The Tata Group-owned carrier stated the adjustments will affect select domestic routes from June through August 2026. According to sources, this translates to a cut of more than 790 weekly flights from its current domestic schedule of approximately 3,600 weekly services. Air India operates a total of around 4,400 weekly flights, including 800 international services.

In a statement, the airline said the decision represents a continuation of its previously announced network rationalization. "We have temporarily rationalised operations on certain domestic routes during the same period, with a reduction in frequencies on select routes," the statement read. It attributed the cuts to "the sustained impact of high fuel prices on overall operations."

Officials point to a sharp increase in the cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which typically constitutes about 40 percent of an airline's...