Indian Airlines Cut Flights as Fuel Costs Surge

Indian airlines are cutting back on domestic flights till August as rising crude prices are making it difficult for them to manage operational costs. The temporary cut-back in flights begins from June this year.

IndiGo plans to reduce between five to seven percent flights while Air India (AI) is set to cut up to 22 percent of its flights. The two airlines between themselves control over 8o percent of the domestic market.

On Wednesday AI said said it has “temporarily rationalised operations on certain domestic routes” with a reduction in frequencies on select routes between June and August 2026 adding that the adjustments are “driven by the sustained impact of high fuel prices on overall operations.”

The Hindu newspaper, a well respected English daily, reported on Wednesday that the cut back will see about 250 flights daily domestic flights being affected.

The Hindu further reported that AI and IndiGo will cut back on around 110 flights a day on their domestic network.

Domestic cut back in flight comes after international flight cuts were announced

The latest news comes in the wake of Indian airlines curtailing their international operations. The reasons for this include closure of Pakistan airspace,  which forces Indian airline flying westwards to take a much longer route there by increasing not only flying time but also cost of operations for the airlines.

The two neighbors— India and Pakistan—shut their respective airspace to aircraft registered in each other territories since early last year. The ban has been in effect since April last year.

Indian airlines have already introduced a fuel surcharge on both domestic and international flight to help mitigate the rising cost of operations.

What the cut will mean

The cut will see a further increase in domestic fares as the traditional annual holiday session in India has begun. Traditionally schools and colleges remain closed from about May to June end early July. This sees large number of people take flights and take off to cooler places with North India reeling under heat wave conditions.

With flights withdrawn and airfares shooting northwards it will be interesting to see how people react to the cutback in flights.

Domestic cut back in flight comes after international flight cuts were announced

On May 13, Air India announced that it was suspending its Delhi- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) non-stop service will be temporarily suspended. At the same time, its DEL to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) will lose three weekly departures.

The airline further said that its Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) flights will go from thrice-weekly to daily, DEL to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) itinerary will keep its daily frequencies, and DEL to EWR and BOM to JFK will also be “temporarily suspended.”

Flights between DEL and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) will initially lose five weekly departures through July, going back to daily in August, and the daily DEL-Vancouver International Airport (YVR) flights will go from daily to five weekly.

In Europe, the carrier will reduce twice-daily connections between DEL and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to a daily service. The DEL-Copenhagen Airport (CPH) route will be reduced from four to three weekly flights, as will the services to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO),  Vienna Airport (VIE), and Zurich Airport (ZRH).  

Brent prices have been moving northward since conflict began

Brent prices have gone up from around $ 72 per barrel in February to over $ 110 in April this year. The conflict in the Gulf region started at the end of February this year. The US Energy Information Administration in a report released on April 7 said that  released crude oil and petroleum product prices increased significantly in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q26), particularly following military action in the Middle East on February 28 and the subsequent de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In this quarterly update, we review petroleum markets price developments in 1Q26, covering crude oil prices, petroleum product prices, and refinery inputs.

Crude oil prices

After beginning the year at $61 per barrel (b), the front-month futures price of Brent crude oil finished the quarter at $118/b. The price increase during the quarter was the largest on an inflation-adjusted basis in data going back to 1988.

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