The ongoing war in West Asia has had a major impact on Air India flights. Airline CEO Campbell Wilson informed the employees that about 2,500 flights had to be canceled in the last three weeks. He said that at present Air India is able to operate only about 30 percent of its normal flights to West Asia. The main reason for this is that many airports and airfields are closed or are not considered suitable from security point of view.
The CEO said that the ongoing war in the Middle East is affecting the entire world, the region and the airline industry. This impact is bigger for Air India because its number of flights in this area is much higher than before. He also said that the economic impact of this situation is now visible. The prices of jet fuel have more than doubled from before, due to which the expenses have increased. For this reason, Air India has also increased the fuel charge on new tickets, so that some expenses can be met.
Impact on flights going to Europe and North America
Due to the ongoing war in Iran, flights going to UK, Europe and North America are now having to take longer distances than before. Due to this, flight time is increasing and more fuel is being consumed. However, CEO Campbell Wilson also said that the number of passengers may be affected due to expensive tickets, because not every passenger is ready to pay higher fares. Despite this, some new demand is also being seen in areas like Europe and North America, where Air India is increasing its flights. At the same time, some other airlines are reducing their services due to high expenses.
Air India CEO’s advice
The CEO of Air India asked the employees to give utmost importance to safety at this time, keep unnecessary expenses down and cooperate with each other. He especially praised those employees who are working in the affected areas and handling the work according to the changing situation. He admitted that at present the flights and schedules of Air India are constantly changing, but with the cooperation of the employees the company is trying to handle this difficult time.
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