Air India To Cut Six US Flights In A Week Due To Crew Crunch

Air India will run six fewer weekly flights to the United States in the next 2-3 months due to a flight attendant shortage. A few flights to Bangkok and Dubai will also be run by Airbus A320 planes rather than the wide-body Boeing 787.

Air India, which changed hands in January, has begun a network expansion strategy. New flights have been added, but a mismatch between aircraft addition and personnel availability has resulted in flight delays and cancellations.

Air India's chief executive officer, Campbell Wilson, announced on Monday on the sidelines of the CAPA India Aviation Summit that the airline's frequency to the United States will be reduced briefly.

It currently operates 47 weekly trips from India to New York, Newark, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC. It will discontinue three weekly trips to Newark and three weekly flights to San Francisco.

According to him, the airline has 1,400 cabin staff members undergoing training and being gradually inducted into service.

Air India has also recruited 100 pilots for its Boeing 777 aircraft, which it uses to fly to the United States. To accommodate network expansion, an additional 140 expatriate pilots are being recruited.