Air India to suspend Delhi-Madrid, Delhi-Birmingham flights from 16 March; says operational reasons behind move

New Delhi: Air India on Wednesday announced that it is suspending its flights on Delhi-Madrid and Delhi-Birmingham routes from March 16 till further notice due to “operational reasons”.

As Pakistan has kept its airspace closed since 26 February due to the Balakot air strike by Indian Air Force (IAF), Air India’s expenditure on flights to Europe and the US have significantly increased.

In a tweet, the national carrier said, “Due to operational reasons, the following Air India flights are suspended with effect from 16 March, 2019, till further notice.”

The airline then said that AI135 Delhi-Madrid flight and AI136 Madrid-Delhi flight would be suspended.

It added that AI113 Delhi-Birmingham flight  and AI114 Birmingham-Delhi flight would also be suspended.

The airline said that AI117 Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham flight and AI118 Birmingham-Amritsar-Delhi flight would be suspended too.

“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our valued passengers and request passengers to collect full refund,” the airline said.

The carrier’s net loss narrowed to Rs 5,337 crore in FY18 from Rs 6,281 crore a year ago, as per the latest Public Enterprises Survey 2017-18.