Air India will suspend all direct Mumbai-Melbourne flights effective late March 2025 which is expected to affect 30,000+ passengers. The decision is said to be based on seasonal demand adjustments. The Melbourne-Mumbai direct flight services will not be available to people travelling to Mumbai for more than five months, from 29 March to 13 September 2025. The move, in air travel circuits transforms the route into a seasonal operation with direct flights between the two cities only returning on 14 September 2025 till late March 2026. It is expected to only run for a few months each time between mid-September and late March. This will directly impact those who travel from Mumbai and surrounds to Melbourne/Victoria for business, education, or tourism.
Details of the Suspension
Currently operated three times a week, Flights AI310 (Mumbai to Melbourne) and AI311 (Melbourne to Mumbai) will resume on September 14 with slightly revised schedules as below:
- Revised Timing for AI310: Departure from Mumbai will shift from 12:50 AM to 1:35 AM, arriving in Melbourne at 5:30 PM instead of 6:10 PM.
- Revised Timing for AI311: Departure from Melbourne will be adjusted from 8:00 PM to 7:00 PM, while the arrival time in Mumbai remains at 2:35 AM.
30,000 plus passengers expected to be affected
This suspension is expected to impact travel plans for over 30,000 passengers. Official data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reveals that during the second and third quarters of 2024, 16,307 passengers traveled from Mumbai to Melbourne, while 16,758 flew the opposite route. Passengers travelling to Mumbai during suspension will need to rely on connecting flights, significantly increasing travel times. While the direct flight takes approximately 12 hours, connecting options can take many hours extra to reach Mumbai. The only savior is that there is no dearth of connections, including flying to Delhi and then to Mumbai.
Also read: Will Air India be run by Tatas again?
Background
The route was launched in late 2023, with a Boeing 787 flying passengers between Melbourne and Mumbai three times per week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. This non-stop trip, meant passengers no longer needed to travel via a transit in New Delhi.
Air India is undergoing some radical change now that it has been substantially re-privatised under the Tata group. This top to toe transformation covers visual branding on the outside of aircraft, and a complete makeover of cabin interiors on its twin aisle widebody fleet, including new business and first class cabins. At a cost of $400 million, this is a radical repainting of aircraft in red, aubergine and gold and a complete repositioning of the airline.
Melbourne-Delhi flights to continue
Air India will maintain its non-stop flights between Melbourne and Delhi. Air India currently also combines a number of airlines including Air India and Vistara to run its operations. It has order new fleet of 470 aircrafts including 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing at a cost of US$70 billion. The airline is also undertaking a refurbishment program of its current fleet at a cost of US$400 million. Some experts say, it is making all the efforts to restore its once shining reputation of the flying Maharajah.
Passengers have the choice of flying Qantas which currently also flies this route. From 2026, once its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners has been upgraded, Australia’s Jetstar is also looking to providing a non-stop service to India.
On the other hand, there are plenty of one-stop options to travel to India with Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysian as well as Sri Lankan Airlines.