Airlines cancel over 5,700 flights in first 6 months of 2025: Govt

New Delhi: Indian airlines cancelled 5,706 flights between January and June this year due to regulatory and geopolitical challenges, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said the cancellations accounted for nearly 1 per cent of the total 5,72,079 departures during the same period. The data covered six carriers, Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Alliance Air.

According to the figures, the Air India Group, including Air India Express, cancelled 1,468 flights out of 1,61,204 scheduled departures during the first half of 2025. IndiGo reported the highest number of cancellations at 3,274, while SpiceJet cancelled 401 flights and Alliance Air 499 flights. Akasa Air, meanwhile, cancelled 64 flights during the six-month period.

Mohol explained that cancellations and delays impose extra costs on airlines, including fuel expenses, crew overtime, maintenance charges, airport fees and passenger rebooking. He added that carriers are also required to refund or compensate passengers for cancellations or significant delays.

Despite the disruptions, domestic air travel continued to expand. Passenger traffic on Indian airlines grew by 7.34 per cent in January-June 2025 compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, the minister noted.

In a separate reply, Mohol informed the House that Air India had launched 24 new international routes since July 2023, of which four 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.

With IANS inputs