Air India not accepting booking for direct flights between London-Gatwick-Kochi after March 30

worldnrinews January 9, 2018

LONDON Jan 29: More bad news is coming out about Air India direct flights between Kochi and London Gatwick.

According to an airline operator source, it appears on their system that Air India have suspended bookings for direct flights between London Gatwick and Kochi beyond March 30th, 2025.

As a result of this change, passengers who have already booked flights to Kochi may be rerouted through Delhi or Mumbai, potentially causing delays and inconvenience.

The primary reason cited for the cancellation of these direct flights is a shortage of available flights between London Gatwick and Kochi.

Air India and Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) are expected to provide further updates on the future of this route in the coming weeks.

Sources from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) have informed to this website that they haven’t been notified of such a news. According to them the schedule for direct flights between London-Gatwick and Kochi remains as agreed prior.

A spokesperson from another airline stated that private airlines reserve the right to make operational decisions, such as route changes or cancellations, at any time. These decisions are typically not bound by a specific timeframe, allowing airlines the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and market conditions as needed.

Air India will end it’s 🇮🇳 Cochin – London Gatwick 🇬🇧 route from 30th March 2025.

LGW will now be connected to just 3 Indian cities – Ahmedabad (5x), Amritsar (4x) and Goa (3x). https://t.co/CPmOoGsc9W

— Aviation News UK 🇬🇧 (@BritAviaNews) January 27, 2025

The post of X also states that Air India’s direct flights between Amritsar and London Gatwick will increase to four times a week beginning in the summer of 2025, while weekly flights connecting Goa-Mopa to London Gatwick will decrease to three.

Consequently, London Gatwick will be directly connected to just three cities – Ahmedabad with five weekly flights, Amritsar with four weekly flights, and Goa with three weekly flights.

Currently, Air India operates three weekly flights between Kochi and London on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.

In light of these developments, the UK Malayalee community is eagerly awaiting an official announcement from Air India or CIAL regarding the future of the Kochi-London Gatwick route, as any changes may have a significant impact on their travel plans and connectivity.

.@airindia will TERMINATE it’s Kochi 🇮🇳 – London Gatwick 🇬🇧 from Summer 2025.

Kochi, thus looses flights to Europe. ☹️

H/T @SeanM1997 https://t.co/IMr1Omxf31

— The Indian Aviation Guy 🇮🇳 (@TIAG747) January 27, 2025

In September 2024, the Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) flight AI149, scheduled to depart from Kochi (COK) to London Gatwick (LGW) on a Saturday, was cancelled due to a technical malfunction. The last-minute cancellation affected approximately 250 passengers, triggering protests at the airport. Air India managed to reroute some passengers through Mumbai, connecting them to a flight bound for London Gatwick airport. However, this solution did not accommodate all affected travelers.

The remaining passengers received several options from the airline. These included a full refund, free accommodation until the next available London flight on Tuesday and coverage of last-mile travel expenses. Despite these offers, a group of disgruntled passengers staged a protest at the Cochin International Airport, expressing their frustration with the sudden change in their travel plans.

Airline authorities had then said that the cancellation resulted from a detected technical snag. The absence of a spare aircraft exacerbated the situation, leaving passengers stranded.

Tata Sons, parent of Air India Group has recently reported that the company nearly halved its losses in FY24 with Air India reporting a loss of Rs 4,444 crore in FY24 compared with Rs 11,388 crore in FY23.