Air Austral, the Reunionese airline, has announced that it is temporarily suspending its route between St. Denis de la Réunion and Chennai, India, due to the lack of regulatory approval from Indian authorities for the full IATA summer schedule.
The suspension is effective from the end of March 2023 until further notice. Air Austral’s last flight to Chennai did take place on March 31, 2023, to return passengers home from either direction.
The airline is offering affected passengers a range of options, including reimbursement, travel vouchers, or the use of their tickets for another Air Austral destination without additional fees but with fare adjustments if applicable.
Air Austral is also organizing the rerouting of passengers currently in India, Reunion, and Mauritius, with a return planned during the affected period, depending on the rerouting possibilities available.
For passengers who need to travel to India, Air Austral is offering a code-share flight with Thai Airways via Bangkok from Reunion Island to Chennai. The airline is committed to reopening and maintaining Chennai as a destination in its network, given the importance of the destination to its clientele due to the cultural and religious ties between India, Reunion, and Mauritius.
The regulatory hurdle faced by Air Austral in India comes as the country is restricting air traffic quotas for Gulf states and encouraging Indian carriers to provide more international airlift. The airline was operating twice-weekly nonstop flights to Chennai using an A220-300.
