Air India to Suspend Delhi-DC Flights
By Reuters | 11 Aug, 2025

A temporary shortage of passenger jets and a mutual airspace ban with Pakistan have forced Air India to halt flights between the capital cities.

An Air India Airbus A350 aeroplane is displayed at Wings India 2024 aviation at Begumpet airport, Hyderabad, India, January 18, 2024. REUTERS/Almaas Masood/File Photo

Air India will suspend services between New Delhi and Washington, D.C. from September due to aircraft shortages caused by upgrades to its Boeing planes and as Pakistan's airspace ban for Indian carriers affects its international routes. 

The suspension will mean there are no flights between the two capital cities by an Indian airline, and comes amid rising tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariffs on Indian imports. 

Air India, acquired by the Tata Group from the government in 2022, said on Monday that 26 of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft were being retrofitted to enhance customer experience, which would reduce aircraft availability until at least the end of 2026. 

"The suspension is primarily driven by the planned shortfall in Air India's fleet," it said in a statement. "That, coupled with the continued closure of airspace over Pakistan, impacts the airline's long-haul operations."

India and Pakistan closed their airspaces to each other days after relations nosedived following a fatal attack on civilians in Indian Kashmir. New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for the attack, which Islamabad denies.

Air India sees Pakistan's airspace ban costing it $600 million over 12 months, Reuters has previously reported. 

The suspension of Washington-Delhi flights also comes as Air India faces heightened regulatory scrutiny after a June crash of one of its Boeing planes in Ahmedabad killed 260 people.

Air India said passengers would have the option to choose flights to Washington, D.C., with layovers in New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco with the airline's partners Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru. Editing by Anil D'Silva and Mark Potter)