IndiGo has decided to suspend its flights to six international destinations from July. Among the routes affected are cities in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Cambodia. IndiGo took the move due to weak demand and rising operating costs. Citing weak demand and rising operating costs, IndiGo has announced that it will suspend flights to six destinations from July.
Indigo has taken this decision during the current summer holidays. According to IndiGo, flights to Langkawi in Malaysia, Krabi in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam will be suspended from July 1. Apart from this, flights to China’s Hong Kong, Shanghai and Cambodia’s Siem Reap will be suspended from July 3.
The suspension of flights on six routes will remain in effect till September 30. These routes are very popular among Indian travelers and provide direct connectivity to major tourist and business cities in Southeast Asia, China. Bookings will resume from October. Indigo has announced that bookings of tickets on all six routes will resume from October 1. However, if market demand improves, these services are likely to resume ahead of schedule. The airline described the move as a limited, minor change to its international network.
According to the company, this quarter of the year is generally weak for the travel sector and the current spending environment is also challenging. Despite the temporary reduction, the airline said it will continue to operate more than 1,800 international flights every week. The company continues to operate most of its overseas network as usual. IndiGo said it will monitor market conditions, rising operating costs and airspace constraints before taking further decisions on international operations.
Passengers affected by this decision will be notified in advance and offered a refund or other available options. The Iran war also halted flights to Manchester. Just two days ago, Indigo announced that it would suspend flights to Manchester from August 31. The airline attributed this to the long-standing restrictions on international airspace due to the Iran war and rising operating costs.
The company says the route is not commercially viable for these reasons. According to IndiGo, the continuous closure of some air corridors has significantly increased flight times and costs. This made it difficult to continue long distance flights. IndiGo currently operates flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Manchester, UK. The route was launched in July last year as part of the airline’s long-haul international expansion plan.
