Overview

• Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed the Rajya Sabha on August 18 that Indian airlines cancelled 5,706 flights from January to June 2025, accounting for about 1% of 572,079 scheduled departures.
• The bulk of cancellations came from IndiGo with 3,274 flights scrubbed, followed by the Air India group’s 1,468, Alliance Air’s 499, SpiceJet’s 401 and Akasa Air’s 64.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation linked the disruptions to lingering geopolitical strains—including the May India–Pakistan confrontation and the continued closure of Pakistani airspace—and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
• Airlines incur additional costs for fuel, crew overtime, maintenance and airport fees, and they are required to provide refunds or compensation to passengers affected by cancellations or significant delays.
• Despite these disruptions, domestic air travel grew by 7.34% in the first half of the year, and Air India plans to resume its Goa–Gatwick service in the Winter 2025 schedule after suspending four international routes for commercial reasons.