Fewer flights this summer: Indian airlines to operate 23,000 weekly flights, down 10%; more cuts loom amid West Asia war

Indian airlines are set to operate 10% fewer domestic flights this summer 2026 compared to the previous year, according to a PTI report. Nine airlines will operate close to 23,000 weekly domestic flights during this summer schedule from 29 March to 14 October, it added.

The domestic carriers include Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, Alliance Air, FLY91, IndiGo, IndiaOne Air, SpiceJet and Star Air, as per the summer schedule published by aviation watchdog the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

10% fewer flights this summer: Official

Speaking to the agency, a senior DGCA official told PTI today that domestic airlines would operate around 10% fewer flights in the 2026 summer schedule, compared to the 2025 numbers.

In the same period the previous year, airlines operated 25,610 weekly flights — 2,561 more compared to this summer. Accordingly, the total count will be about 23,049 weekly flights, as per an analysis.

The DGCA has put out the airline-wise domestic summer schedule for 2026 on its website but has not provided a consolidated figure and comparison with the previous summer schedule or the ongoing winter schedule, it added.

Winter schedule: DGCA cut IndiGo flights

For the winter schedule from 16 October 2025 to 28 March 2026, the airlines were scheduled to operate 26,495 weekly flights. However, the massive operational disruptions at IndiGo in early December had an impact and the DGCA had curtailed the carrier's winter schedule flights by 10%.

Further, the war in West Asia between the United States, Israel and Iran, which began on 28 February, has also significantly disrupted domestic carriers' flight services to the Middle East region, as per the report.

Will West Asia war have impact on summer schedule?

An airline executive told PTI that there is a lot of uncertainty and there could be further reduction in the existing summer schedule itself amid conflict in the Gulf.

“The schedule was mostly prepared in January and February, a period during which there were no risks related to the Middle East conflict, which started on February 28. Now, the scenario is completely different and operational complexities have increased,” one of the officials told the agency.

An official told Hindustan Times that airlines are scaling back operations due to rising fuel cost, foreign exchange and concerns that travel demand could weaken if the war continues.

Further, an airline industry official told HT that there is also fear that leisure passengers may rethink or defer their travel plans amid the Middle East conflict. “If the load factors are poor, it makes more sense to cancel or club flights or ground an aircraft in the worst-case scenario,” they added.

On March 24, IndiGo said it intends to start its domestic summer schedule in April with around 2,000 daily flights. "IndiGo's international schedule was planned at similar levels to winter, but the deployed scale will, of course, vary based on ongoing circumstances in the Middle East. It should be noted that there is a very material escalation in operating costs, with fuel and forex-related costs expected to continue to increase very substantially, in addition to what is already an escalating cost environment," the airline had said.

(With inputs from PTI)