Air India Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tewolde Gebremariam announced the plans on Tuesday at the Aviation India and South Asia 2026 conference in New Delhi. He said the airline would continue operating flights to Europe and the US from Delhi, but move a larger share of its capacity to Mumbai.
“Most of our network, unfortunately, in Europe and America, has been affected by the airspace closure,” Gebremariam said.
The airline is also examining the possibility of developing Bengaluru as a third hub alongside Delhi and Mumbai to strengthen its international connectivity.
Gebremariam said India has the geographical advantage, a large and young population, a growing economy and a sizeable diaspora, positioning the country to emerge as a global aviation hub.
“India can establish itself as a global hub. The only one hub, multiple hubs,” he said.
He added that cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad could also serve as international gateways.
The proposed network restructuring comes as Air India continues to grapple with profitability concerns. Gebremariam acknowledged that the airline's cost per available seat kilometre remained too high, making cost reduction and improved financial performance immediate priorities.
To address the issue, Air India has established a multi-functional team to work on reducing costs. The airline is also looking to improve operational efficiencies by bringing its full-service and low-cost operations, Air India and Air India Express, closer together in areas such as common corporate functions.
Regaining international passenger traffic travelling to and from India remains another key priority for the airline.
Gebremariam said Air India wants to recover its share of the international market, which he described as business that rightfully belonged to the airline.
“Our immediate focus is to regain market share from the competition on India to the rest of the world,” he said.
Alongside recovering its market share, the airline plans to increase connecting traffic through India. Such traffic currently accounts for around 10% of its business, and Gebremariam said the airline aims to increase that share over time.
Under the proposed network strategy, Air India intends to expand its eastern and southeastern network largely through Delhi, while shifting more of its Europe- and America-bound capacity to Mumbai.
“The eastern side and the southeastern side of our network are not affected by the airspace closure. So those growths will be by and large in Delhi. And Europe and America will be in Mumbai,” he said.
Gebremariam described the closure of Pakistani airspace as a specific disadvantage for Air India, unlike high fuel prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia, which affect carriers across the aviation industry.
“We have unique problem of the airspace closure here in the Pakistan airspace closure. That is affecting us and our competitors, they are not affected by the same problem,” he said.
He described these challenges as short-term headwinds that the airline needs to navigate.
As part of its longer-term expansion strategy, Air India is also looking to increase its order for wide-body aircraft, while its immediate focus remains on improving financial performance, regaining international market share and strengthening its network through multiple hubs.
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