Mon Jun 23 09:40:00 UTC 2025: **News Article:**

**Air India Trims Domestic Schedule Following Recent Setbacks**

Air India, the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines-owned carrier, is reducing its domestic flight schedule by 5% until mid-July, following a string of challenges, including a recent fatal incident in Ahmedabad on June 12. This reduction follows an earlier announcement of a 15% cut to its international widebody schedule.

The domestic schedule adjustments will impact approximately 12% of Air India’s total domestic routes. Three routes – Bengaluru-Singapore, Pune-Singapore and Mumbai-Bagdogra – will be suspended entirely, while frequencies will be reduced on 19 others, totaling 120 fewer flights per week. These include flights previously operated by Vistara aircraft post-merger and older Air India planes.

While the airline cited regulatory checks and extended flying hours due to the West Asia crisis for international flight cancellations, the reasons behind domestic adjustments are less clear. Industry experts suggest a combination of factors, including heightened maintenance checks across the fleet leading to groundings and cascading cancellations, as well as a softening in domestic passenger demand following the Ahmedabad incident.

While the recent incident may have impacted domestic air travel, passenger load factors seem to be holding steady.

The capacity reduction is expected to help stabilize fares, particularly as the peak summer travel season ends and the monsoon season begins. Competitor IndiGo, already a market leader on many of the affected routes, stands to gain market share. Akasa Air is also poised to benefit.

Industry-wide, the reduction in Air India flights could lead to the first dip below 3,000 daily domestic flights in July.

Air India states that they remain “committed to restoring our full schedule as soon as practicable, while at all times prioritising the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft.”

This capacity adjustment comes as Air India is undergoing its five-year transformation plan, Vihaan.AI. Experts suggest that the airline may need to re-evaluate its plans to ensure essential basics are in place, particularly given the recent spate of short-notice cancellations.

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