Over 5,700 Flights Cancelled in First Half of 2025: Govt

NEW DELHI:
Indian airlines cancelled as many as 5,706 flights between January and June this year (H1 2025) because of regulatory and geopolitical issues, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

The cancellations accounted for around 1 per cent of the total 5,72,079 departures during the same period, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The data covered six carriers — Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Alliance Air.

Specifically, the Air India Group, including Air India Express, cancelled 1,468 flights during the period, out of a total of 1,61,204 departures, the data showed.

Akasa Air cancelled 64 flights in the first half of 2025, while IndiGo reported 3,274 cancellations during the same period.

SpiceJet cancelled 401 flights between January and June, the minister said in his written reply. Alliance Air also cancelled 499 flights during the period.

Mohol explained that airlines incur extra costs when flights are delayed or cancelled, including fuel charges, crew overtime, maintenance, airport fees and rebooking expenses.

In addition, airlines are required to refund or compensate passengers in such cases.

Despite the cancellations, domestic air travel continued to grow. The number of passengers carried by Indian airlines rose by 7.34 per cent in January-June 2025 compared with the same period previous year, the minister noted.

“Further, airlines are required to provide refunds or compensation to passengers for cancellations or significant delays. Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-June 2025 registered a growth of 7.34 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year,” he added.

In a separate reply, Mohol said Air India had launched 24 new international routes since July 2023, but four of them were later suspended for commercial reasons.

Among these, the Goa-London Gatwick service, which was temporarily halted, is expected to resume in the Winter 2025 schedule.