Sole direct link between Delhi and Washington, D.C. being withdrawn by Air India

Air India launched flights between Delhi and Washington, D.C., in 2017. Since then, it has seen reasonable success with the flight, increasing operations from the initial three-times-a-week schedule to a five-times-a-week schedule. The airline operates the flight with a 787-8 aircraft and is the sole operator on this capital-to-capital flight. Delhi – Washington, D.C. is the longest flight in the Air India network, operated with a Boeing 787-8.

Air India to suspend flights to Washington indefinitely.

Ever since the India-Pakistan skirmishes and the closure of the Pakistani airspace to Indian airlines, Air India has had to operate this route with a stop via Vienna. This resulted in the flight reverting to a thrice-weekly schedule. Air India has now experienced a fatal incident with the AI171 incident and has finally begun rolling out the Boeing 787-8 retrofit. Between these developments, the airline will start going short on aircraft (the 787-8). Consequently, Air India is now reworking its network.

Air India today announced the suspension of its services between Delhi and Washington, D.C., effective September 1, 2025, due to a combination of operational factors, to ensure the reliability and integrity of Air India’s overall route network.

The suspension is primarily driven by the planned shortfall in Air India’s fleet, as the airline commenced retrofitting 26 of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft last month. This retrofit programme necessitates a prolonged unavailability of multiple aircraft at any given time until at least the end of 2026. That, coupled with the continued closure of airspace over Pakistan, impacts the airline’s long-haul operations, leading to longer flight routings and increased operational complexity.

This flight used to operate with a reduced payload, but was an essential flight on the network, given the connectivity between the Indian and the American capital cities. So, I expect it to return, even with a Boeing 787-9, sometime soon. But we will see about that.

Customers with Air India bookings to or from Washington, D.C., beyond September 1, 2025, will be contacted and offered alternative travel arrangements, including rebooking on other flights or full refunds, as per their individual preferences.

Air India customers will continue to have the option of one-stop flights to Washington, D.C. via four U.S. gateways – New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Chicago, and San Francisco – with the airline’s interline partners, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, allowing customers to travel on a single itinerary with their baggage checked through to the final destination. Air India will also continue to operate non-stop flights between India and six destinations in North America, including Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.

Bottomline

Air India will indefinitely suspend its flights between Delhi and Washington, D.C., effective September 1, 2025. The airline is taking this step because there are not enough aircraft to operate the flight. Due to the non-availability of Pakistani Airspace, the flight had to be operated on a one-stop basis rather than non-stop.

What do you make of the suspension of Air India’s link between Delhi and Washington, D.C.?

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