West Asia war sends international operations of Indian carriers into tailspin, Air India Express worst affected

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s international air travel fell to a four-year low in March as the West Asia conflict disrupted key routes, with Air India Express emerging as the worst-hit among local carriers.The low-cost carrier of Air India, which has a heavy exposure to the region, recorded the steepest decline. Its departures plunged 68% to 1,263 in March from 3,928 a year ago.

Passenger traffic fell 66% to 169,000 from 496,000, underscoring the airline’s reliance on Gulf routes.Air India Express, which has 17 overseas destinations including Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, has not said if it is redeploying under-utilized aircraft on other routes.International departures at InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the operator of IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, fell 36% to 5,238 flights in March from 8,231 a year earlier. Passenger traffic declined 37% to 809,000 from 1.28 million.The airline has cut frequencies on West and Central Asian routes and scaled back some European routes as longer flying times and operational constraints weighed on schedules.“Numbers clearly reflect the West Asia crises playing out for Indian airlines.

Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to one daily flight. Same restrictions or curbs have not been levied by India on carriers based out of Dubai.

And this has a pronounced impact on players like Air India Express,” said captain Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation expert and former member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council. “Air India Express is also the hardest hit since over 50% of its international routes cover the Gulf.”International departures by Indian airlines fell 40% year-on-year to 11,284 in March from 18,502 a year earlier, according to data from the Directorate General