Air India discontinues operations on Delhi-Gaya route
Gaya: In a double setback for air passengers in Magadh division, Air India has discontinued its operations on the Delhi-Gaya route while IndiGo has backed out of its plan to introduce a daily flight on the Gaya-Kolkata-Mumbai sector.
According to Gaya International Airport officiating director Awadhesh Kumar, the last Air India flight, AI 1815, departed from Gaya airport on Saturday evening.
Asked about the proposed Gaya-Kolkata-Mumbai IndiGo flight, Kumar said after initially showing interest in the route, the airline has gone silent and appears to have backed out of the plan. Earlier, IndiGo was tentatively scheduled to launch the service by the end of March. When asked about the reason behind the decision, the officiating director said he had no information about the matter.
However, aviation experts believe the airline may be struggling to align its operations with flying protocols introduced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The aviation regulator recently penalised Indigo for violations related to crew duty and rest hours. As a result, the airline has reportedly reduced some operations and may not be in a position to launch services on new routes.
Expressing concern over the discontinuation of Air India services on the Gaya-Delhi route, president-elect of Central Bihar Chamber of Commerce Pramod Bhadani said the move was a major setback for the region.
He said it amounted to a backward step as instead of adding more flights, even the existing facility had been withdrawn despite the airline doing good business on the route. Bhadani added that the business body would approach the authorities concerned for the resumption of Air India services.
“With Air India out of the scene, Indigo now has a monopoly on the route, which is certainly not good for air passengers of the region,” Bhadani said.
Refusing to comment on the developments, Air India station manager Dinesh Gopal said he was not authorised to interact with the media.
Air India’s intentions had come under scrutiny earlier when the airline did not apply to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for slot allotment in the summer schedule. Airlines usually apply two to three months in advance for slot allocations in summer and winter schedules.
Air India was the first airline to start operations on the Gaya-Delhi route in 2011. IndiGo joined later in 2019-20. Both airlines suspended operations during the Covid period. While IndiGo resumed services after the pandemic, Air India restarted flights only in late 2025 following the intervention of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who represents Gaya in Lok Sabha.
According to Gaya International Airport officiating director Awadhesh Kumar, the last Air India flight, AI 1815, departed from Gaya airport on Saturday evening.
Asked about the proposed Gaya-Kolkata-Mumbai IndiGo flight, Kumar said after initially showing interest in the route, the airline has gone silent and appears to have backed out of the plan. Earlier, IndiGo was tentatively scheduled to launch the service by the end of March. When asked about the reason behind the decision, the officiating director said he had no information about the matter.
However, aviation experts believe the airline may be struggling to align its operations with flying protocols introduced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The aviation regulator recently penalised Indigo for violations related to crew duty and rest hours. As a result, the airline has reportedly reduced some operations and may not be in a position to launch services on new routes.
Expressing concern over the discontinuation of Air India services on the Gaya-Delhi route, president-elect of Central Bihar Chamber of Commerce Pramod Bhadani said the move was a major setback for the region.
He said it amounted to a backward step as instead of adding more flights, even the existing facility had been withdrawn despite the airline doing good business on the route. Bhadani added that the business body would approach the authorities concerned for the resumption of Air India services.
“With Air India out of the scene, Indigo now has a monopoly on the route, which is certainly not good for air passengers of the region,” Bhadani said.
Refusing to comment on the developments, Air India station manager Dinesh Gopal said he was not authorised to interact with the media.
Air India’s intentions had come under scrutiny earlier when the airline did not apply to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for slot allotment in the summer schedule. Airlines usually apply two to three months in advance for slot allocations in summer and winter schedules.
Air India was the first airline to start operations on the Gaya-Delhi route in 2011. IndiGo joined later in 2019-20. Both airlines suspended operations during the Covid period. While IndiGo resumed services after the pandemic, Air India restarted flights only in late 2025 following the intervention of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who represents Gaya in Lok Sabha.
Next Story