Akasa taps Hajj travel to offset other West Asia route cuts
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Akasa Air, India’s third largest airline, is tapping into the month-long demand for Hajj travel to deploy its aircraft capacity left underutilized after services to parts of West Asia were scaled back due to the ongoing war in the region, according to a person aware of the development.Approximately five to six airplanes were used on the West Asia route, which are now being used majorly for Hajj travel," said the person quoted above, requesting anonymity as this plan is part of business strategy.Flights to and from Doha, Riyadh and Kuwait have been suspended until 30 April, according to the airline’s 21 April post on X. While it continues to operate flights to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia—the main gateway for pilgrims going to Mecca—from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kochi and Kozhikode, Akasa is evaluating resumption of flights to Abu Dhabi, the post said.Akasa Air did not respond to Mint’s queries on aircraft utilization, Hajj travel and the impact of the West Asia crisis.The airline has inducted eight new aircraft in 2026, taking the fleet size to 38.