NEW DELHI: Air India Express has announced the suspension of its flights on the Amritsar-Bangkok route from August 2025, dealing a blow to travellers seeking direct access from the northern Indian city to the popular Thai tourism destination.
Flight bookings for the route have already been closed beyond July 30, 2025, according to local media reports.
The development comes after Batik Air Malaysia has decided to stop operating flights on the Kuala Lumpur-Amritsar route, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of direct connectivity of India from Amritsar.
Despite early optimism, the Amritsar–Bangkok route has consistently struggled to perform. According to aviation analyst Ravreet Singh in a LinkedIn post, several structural challenges—such as high fare sensitivity, limited demand for premium or business travel, and poor onward connectivity—have hindered the route’s ability to reach profitability.
Air India Express, a low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, transported 16,993 passengers on the route between January and May 2025, translating to a passenger load factor (PLF) of just 67.27%.
Thai Lion Air, which operates four weekly flights between Amritsar and Bangkok, is also experiencing underwhelming performance on the route. Between November 2024 and May 2025, the airline carried 26,775 passengers, recording a passenger load factor (PLF) of 63.09%, despite a temporary uptick in March and April likely driven by group and seasonal travel.
These figures highlight inconsistent demand, primarily fueled by leisure travellers, group bookings, and the variable schedules of tour operators—factors that fail to generate the stable, year-round traffic required to maintain the route’s long-term viability.
Concerns over the viability of the route have been raised based on performance data and observed market behaviour.
The consecutive withdrawal of Air India Express and Batik Air Malaysia from their respective Southeast Asia routes points to a broader underlying issue.
This situation underscores that simply increasing flight capacity is not a guarantee of success.
