11 hours ago
Air India suspends Pune-Singapore direct flight until July 15
Pune: Air India, which is under scrutiny from all quarters following the Ahmedabad plane crash, announced on Sunday that it suspended the direct Pune-Singapore flight until July 15.
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The Pune-Singapore flight was launched by the erstwhile Vistara in Dec 2022. The flight, now operating as AI-2111, flew four days a week using an Airbus A-321 aircraft. It used to take off from Pune at 0210 hours (IST) and landed in Singapore at 10.30 hours (GMT). This flight was inaugurated online by former Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The airline stated that this was part of its overall reduction in narrow-bodied operations by less than 5%.
"This voluntary decision leads to the temporary suspension of Air India's services on three routes and a reduction in frequency on 19 routes. The changes are effective until at least July 15. These reductions aim to strengthen Air India's network-wide operational stability and minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers," an airline press statement said.
Other international flights suspended by Air India include a flight between Bengaluru and Singapore.
Additionally, a domestic flight between Mumbai and Bagdogra has also been suspended. The frequency of 19 domestic flights, including one between Pune and Delhi, has been reduced.
Amitabh Kumar, who was scheduled to fly to Singapore on the flight on Monday, wrote on X, "My Pune–Singapore direct flight on June 23 is cancelled now, and the alternative offered has delayed me by more than 8 hours. The airline informed me just 12 hours prior—no hotel, no care, no compensation," he wrote.
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Sushil Arya, who was scheduled to fly on Sunday, said, "They just cancelled the flight a day before. Why has it been cancelled like this a day before?" he asked the airline on X and received the response that the cancellation was for operational reasons. "I have been trying to book the flight for Aug 25, but cannot see the flight. I don't understand whether it will be restored after July 15 or not," another flyer told TOI.
The suspension of the flight has left Pune with just four direct international flights, down from five. "The flight was good and gave us the opportunity to travel not just to Singapore, but many other countries in Southeast Asia via Singapore. We hope that the flight is restored," Amol Dayal, a businessman, said.
