Flight cancellations hit 5,706 till June 30, govt cites geopolitical, regulatory issues

Airlines cancelled 5,706 flights, about 1 per cent of total departures, due to regulatory and geopolitical issues in the first half of 2025, the government told Parliament on Monday.

New Delhi: As many as 5,706 flights were cancelled due to regulatory and geopolitical issues this year till June 30, accounting for around 1 per cent of the total departures during the same period, according to official data.

The data, provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday, covers flights of Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Alliance Air.

There were a total of 5,706 flight cancellations due to regulatory and geopolitical issues this year till June 30. During this time, the number of flight departures stood at 5,72,079, as per the data.

Mohol said airlines incur costs due to delays and cancellations, including additional fuel, crew overtime, maintenance, airport fees, and rebooking expenses.

"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 written reply, the minister said Air India commenced 24 international routes since July 2023 and out of them, 4 routes have been suspended due to commercial reasons.

"Air India's Goa-London (Gatwick) service, which was temporarily suspended, is scheduled to resume in Winter Schedule 2025," he said.