Air India stops direct flights from Mumbai to New York

INDIA’S national carrier Air India (AI) has decided to discontinue the direct flight service between Mumbai and New York.

The flight service which started December 2018 recorded weak demand prompting the company to stop the flight service between Mumbai and John F Kennedy airport.

According to the AI officials, the flight service was causing huge loss to the airline.

The Mumbai-New York flight service was operated thrice a week, was temporarily halted its services in February following the closure of Pakistan airspace.

However, the airline has decided to stop the service following the poor load factor and low seat occupancy.

The airline was expected to restart its operations next month.

The air travel time between Delhi to the US has moved up by 180 minutes as the flights are being re-routed paving a way for heavy losses.

In October 2018 AI had restarted its direct Mumbai-Frankfurt flight, which was cancelled in 2010.

The national carrier operates Boeing B777-ER aircraft to provide flights service to Newark, Washington, and Chicago from Hyderabad via Delhi.

In addition, the company runs, Boeing B777-ER aircraft to provide its service to fly to San Francisco and New York from Delhi.

AI flights to the US from Delhi recording up to 80 per cent seat occupancy.