New Delhi: Air India on Sunday announced a temporary reduction in its narrowbody operations, while also implementing route diversions due to rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.

The airline clarified that these measures are part of broader efforts to ensure operational stability and passenger safety.

Narrowbody network trimmed by under 5%

In an official statement, Air India confirmed that it has reduced its overall narrowbody network by less than 5 percent. This decision follows an earlier cut of 15 percent in its widebody international services.

As a result of the new measure, services on three routes have been temporarily suspended, while frequency has been reduced on 19 others. These changes will remain in effect until at least 15 July, the airline stated.

Among the suspended routes are seven weekly flights each on Bengaluru–Singapore, Pune–Singapore, and Mumbai–Bagdogra, which will not operate until mid-July.

Several key domestic routes have also seen a reduction in weekly flight numbers.

On the Bengaluru–Chandigarh sector, the frequency has been brought down to seven per week. Flights between Delhi and Bengaluru now operate 113 times weekly, while the Delhi–Mumbai route has been reduced to 165 weekly services.

Other affected routes include Delhi–Kolkata (63 weekly), Delhi–Coimbatore (12), and both Delhi–Goa (Dabolim) and Delhi–Goa (Mopa) (seven weekly flights each).

Further reductions include Delhi–Hyderabad (76 weekly flights), Delhi–Indore (14), Delhi–Lucknow (21), and Delhi–Pune (54). From Mumbai, the number of weekly flights has been lowered on several routes: Mumbai–Ahmedabad (37), Mumbai–Bengaluru (84), Mumbai–Kolkata (30), Mumbai–Coimbatore (16), Mumbai–Kochi (34), Mumbai–Goa (Dabolim) (29), Mumbai–Hyderabad (59), and Mumbai–Varanasi (seven).

Despite the scale-back, Air India assured that it will continue to operate nearly 600 daily flights using its narrow-body fleet across 120 domestic and short-haul international routes.

The airline stressed that these temporary changes are intended to ensure greater operational stability and reduce unexpected disruptions for passengers.

Support for affected passengers

Air India extended its apologies to passengers impacted by the route curtailments. The airline also confirmed that affected customers are being proactively contacted and offered several options: rebooking on alternative flights, complimentary date changes, or full refunds, depending on their preferences.

“The revised schedule is being progressively made available on our website, airindia.com, mobile app, and through our contact centre,” the airline stated.

“We remain committed to restoring our full schedule as soon as practicable, while at all times prioritising the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft,” the statement added.

Route diversions

On Sunday, Air India also addressed the impact of rising hostilities between Israel and Iran. The airline confirmed it has rerouted flights to avoid the airspaces of Iran, Iraq and Israel, citing security concerns in the Gulf region.

The airline cautioned that these changes may result in longer flight durations. “This adjustment may lead to extended flight durations for these services,” the spokesperson noted.

Air India assured that it is in continuous coordination with external security advisors and is closely monitoring the situation.

Air India reaffirmed that the safety and security of its passengers, crew and aircraft continue to be its top priority. Updates will be shared with passengers as the situation evolves.

(agency inputs)