CHENNAI: Air India has announced the temporary suspension of its daily direct Chennai-Singapore flight service in both directions from June 1 to August 31, citing rising aviation fuel prices and continued airspace restrictions in several regions.
The airline said passengers who have already booked tickets for the affected period can either reschedule their travel to alternative dates without additional charges or opt for a full refund.
The move has come as a shock to passengers, especially as Air India had already suspended direct services from Chennai to destinations such as Dubai and Sri Lanka a few months ago.
For several years, Air India has operated two daily direct passenger flights between Chennai and Singapore. The Chennai-Singapore flight departs Chennai International Airport at 1:40 am, while the return service from Singapore reaches Chennai at 11:40 am.
The route is widely used by tourists, business travellers, students and passengers flying onward to destinations such as Australia via Singapore. The flights are usually reported to operate at near-full capacity.
Air India has also reduced the frequency of several other international services. Flights between Delhi and Singapore have been cut from 24 weekly services to 14, while Mumbai-Singapore services have been reduced from 14 flights a week to seven.
Similarly, services from India to destinations including Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Sri Lanka and Dhaka have also been curtailed.
The airline said the temporary cancellations and reduction in services were necessitated by increased jet fuel costs and operational challenges arising from ongoing airspace restrictions.
The loss-making airline, which has already reduced flights on certain routes, said the latest announced rationalisation of services will be in place during the June-August period.
A combination of factors, including continued airspace restrictions over certain regions and record high jet fuel prices for international operations, are significantly impacting the commercial viability of certain planned services, Air India said in a statement.
The loss-making airline will be temporarily suspending services on Delhi-Chicago, Mumbai-New York, Delhi-Shanghai, Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka, and Delhi-Male routes till August.
According to the statement, the airline will continue to operate more than 1,200 international flights every month.
These include 33 flights per week to North America, 47 flights per week to Europe, 57 flights per week to the UK, eight flights per week to Australia, 158 flights per week to the Far East, Southeast Asia, and SAARC regions, and seven flights per week to Mauritius (Africa).