Major Flight Reductions Hit Varanasi Airport; Akasa Air and Air India Express Suspend Key Routes

VARANASI — Air connectivity to and from Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport has taken a significant hit, causing immense inconvenience to passengers. Following SpiceJet's recent decision to suspend all of its operations from the city, other major carriers including Akasa Air and Air India Express have significantly scaled back their services.

Key Airline Suspensions (Effective July 1)

The updated flight schedule rolling out from July 1 has severely disrupted connectivity to major metropolitan hubs, particularly Bengaluru and Mumbai:

• Akasa Air: The airline has completely discontinued four of its key operations. This includes three flights on the highly traveled Varanasi–Bengaluru route (QP 1422, QP 1524, and QP 1424), alongside its Varanasi–Navi Mumbai service (QP 2022).

• Air India Express: Daily connectivity to India's financial capital has been directly hit as the airline suspended its daily service (IX 2547) between Varanasi and Mumbai.

IndiGo Revises and Trims Schedules

Compounding the problem, IndiGo has also rolled out a heavily modified and reduced schedule for several major routes throughout July:

RouteFlight NumberNew Schedule DetailsVaranasi – Delhi6E 2215Reduced from daily to just 3 days a week (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday)Varanasi – Navi Mumbai6E 5302Operating only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and FridaysVaranasi – Kolkata6E 507Suspended from regular daily operations; will only fly on July 9, 21, and 31