Airlines forced to cancel flights as omicron hits demand and frontline crew

IndiGo to reduce 20% of capacity and waive change fees for all bookings

India’s largest carrier IndiGo will cut 20 per cent of its flights due to lower demand as a rapidly spreading coronavirus upends the recovery of air travel. The airline was operating around 1,200 flights as on Saturday.

Other airlines are being forced to cancel flights as states tighten restrictions to combat the spread of the virus, and people are dropping last-minute travel plans. Airlines carried 260,251 passengers on 2,518 flights on Saturday, compared to  358,856 passengers on 2,794 flights the day before.

According to travel industry sources, bookings in the 15-30 days period have seen a drop of around 40 per