Air India has reportedly cancelled multiple flights between India and North America during the peak winter season, affecting popular routes like Delhi-San Francisco, Delhi-Washington, and Delhi-Toronto.
While flight cancellations aren’t unusual, they are notably disruptive during peak season. December is a high-demand period for India-North America routes, with many people of Indian origin and tourists visiting family and friends or vacationing in India for the Christmas holidays.
These cancellations are likely due to aircraft groundings, with four of Air India’s Boeing 777-300ER planes currently out of service. Two of these are undergoing extensive maintenance in Turkey.
What’s Next For Passengers?
For affected passengers, rebooking may prove difficult, as peak season fares are high and last-minute tickets are expensive. Due to peak season, many may struggle to find available seats on alternative flights at reasonable prices.
AeroRoutes, a schedule tracking website, recently detailed cancellations and frequency changes on several Air India routes, including Delhi-San Francisco, Delhi-Washington, Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-Chicago, and Delhi-Newark. According to exclusive data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the airline is cutting over 50 flights, impacting around 14 flights to Chicago, 16 to San Francisco, 8 to Toronto, and more than 20 to Washington.