CHENNAI: Air India’s decision to suspend its Chennai-Singapore service till August has dealt a blow to one of the busiest international sectors from the city, even as the airline undertakes a wider rationalisation of its overseas network, citing operational and commercial pressures.The Tata Group-owned carrier on Wednesday announced a series of cuts and suspensions across international routes between June and Aug 2026 owing to continued airspace restrictions in certain regions and record-high jet fuel prices impacting long-haul and international operations.Among the most significant impacts for south India is the suspension of the Chennai-Singapore route through August, a sector that caters heavily to leisure travellers, business passengers, students and transit flyers connecting to Southeast Asia, Australia and other destinations. Air India operates two direct flights to Singapore from Chennai and 14 connecting flights via Mumbai and New Delhi. IndiGo Airlines operates three direct flights. International carriers like Singapore Airlines and Scoot Airways too operate direct flights between Chennai and Singapore.A Sankar, president of Indian Air Passengers’ Association, said the move would encourage other carriers to escalate the ticket fares manifold and make flying to Singapore unaffordable. “Airlines reducing the operations despite the union govt releasing Rs 5,000 crore emergency credit to them shows their incapability to manage the crisis,” he said.Sankar said Chennai-Singapore is one of the busiest sectors, with people of all walks of life often travelling between these countries for business, work as well as for leisure.Mohan Chandramouli, a retired official of the govt-owned Air India, said that the loss due to non-operational flights would be monumental and made the crisis worse for the carrier.Several other routes in Southeast Asia and the SAARC region have also been affected. Air India has suspended Delhi-Shanghai, Mumbai-Dhaka and Delhi-Malé services through August, while reducing frequencies to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kathmandu, Colombo and Dhaka.The impact extends to Europe, North America and Australia as well. Air India has suspended the Delhi-Chicago route temporarily and reduced frequencies to San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, Zurich, Rome, Melbourne and Sydney, among others.Despite the temporary cuts, the airline said it would continue operating more than 1,200 international flights every month across five continents, including 158 weekly flights to the Far East, Southeast Asia and SAARC destinations.Air India said affected passengers would be offered alternative flights, where feasible, along with options for free date changes or full refunds. The airline added that it is working with regulators and airport authorities to restore full capacity once operating conditions get better.
