Air India Suspends Amritsar–London Gatwick Route amid Broader Non-Metro Network Review. Air India, owned by the Tata Group, is suspending its nonstop service connecting Amritsar‘s Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport with London Gatwick Airport (LGW). The operational pause comes in response to compounding commercial and operational headwinds that eroded the route’s economic viability. The suspension is expected to accelerate a broader strategic review of the airline’s long-haul international network originating from non-metro Indian cities, as the flag carrier shifts focus toward building up its primary hub gateways.
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Commercial aviation analysts attribute the route suspension to a combination of weak financial yields and rising operational expenditures. The Amritsar–Gatwick market historically generated lower average fares, leaving little margin to absorb cost spikes. Operational costs surged following the closure of Pakistani airspace to Indian air carriers, which forced flights to take longer routing paths and added nearly 2.5 hours of flight time per leg. This extended flight time increased jet fuel consumption, a burden further magnified by rising global fuel prices tied to geopolitical conflicts in West Asia.
Following the departure from Gatwick out of Amritsar, Air India‘s long-haul international presence from non-metro cities has been scaled back to just two remaining services: Amritsar–Birmingham and Ahmedabad–London Gatwick. The carrier’s commercial leadership is currently evaluating whether these remaining point-to-point services deliver sufficient returns to justify dedicating long-haul widebody aircraft, which could otherwise be deployed to support high-density international routes out of the airline’s key gateways at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai.
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Industry experts emphasize that splitting London operations across both Heathrow and Gatwick introduces operational complexity and inflates overhead costs related to crew scheduling, aircraft positioning, and ground handling. Consolidating London services around Heathrow could streamline network management and strengthen connecting traffic flows. Analysts anticipate that the Amritsar–Gatwick suspension could remain in effect for several years, noting that a resumption would require a fundamental restructuring of route economics rather than short-term changes in external fuel prices or airspace restrictions.
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