Sources point out that Chennai market has presented different challenges for airlines
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Mumbai: Chennai will lose connectivity with Reunion as IndiGo plans to stop its flights to the Indian Ocean island from October 22. IndiGo began operations to Reunion on April 30 with three weekly flights. This was scaled down to two flights per week and now the airline is suspending its service from October in view of “evolving market conditions.”Reunion is the third destination to drop off Chennai’s network map in recent months after Dammam (Saudi Arabia) and Phuket (Thailand). While Dammam was being served by Air India Express, Thai AirAsia flew to Phuket. Network PrioritiesIn a statement, IndiGo said decision was taken after a strategic assessment of network priorities in light of evolving market conditions and operating environment.“IndiGo continues to evaluate opportunities across its network to ensure capacity is deployed where it can deliver the greatest value to customers and support its long-term growth ambitions. IndiGo also continues to evaluate future opportunities to operate to Reunion Island in collaboration with the local airport and tourism authorities, including potential seasonal services in 2027,” the airline said. Affected passengers will be contacted and offered refunds, it added. IndiGo’s move to pull out of Reunion is not an isolated example. The airline has suspended flights to six overseas destinations till September end citing high operating costs. Air India too reduced its flights in summer and carriers from Thailand and Vietnam too cut capacity to India. Different RouteSources point out that Chennai market has presented different challenges for airlines. A lot of passengers from Chennai are now connecting via Bengaluru, which is the third largest airport in the country. International capacity at Chennai airport is 12.7 per cent lower on a year-on-year basis, data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. Indian and overseas carriers have scheduled 1,343 international flights (one way) from Chennai in August compared to 1,538 flights in the same month last year. Currently, Air India and Air India Express are not operating any international flights from Chennai. The Tata group-owned airlines had around six daily services to Colombo, Singapore and destinations in West Asia last August.Online portals show Air India is restarting Chennai – Singapore service in September.Air India did not respond to an email query. Published on July 29, 2026
