Air Austral (UU, St. Denis de la Réunion) is suspending its route between St. Denis de la Réunion and Chennai, India, from the end of March 2023 until further notice after it failed to secure the regulatory approval from Indian authorities for the full IATA summer schedule, which runs from March 27 to October 29, 2023.
Air Austral's regulatory hurdle with India also comes as the country restricts air traffic quotas for Gulf states while encouraging Indian carriers to provide more international airlift.
Air Austral's last flight to Chennai will take place on March 31 to return passengers home from either direction, the airline announced in a statement. Affected passengers will be refunded, receive travel vouchers or may use their tickets for another Air Austral destination, without additional fees but with fare adjustments if applicable. Depending on available re-routing options, Air Austral will also re-route passengers scheduled to return to their departure destination during this period and currently in India, in Reunion, and Mauritius. Air Austral was operating twice-weekly nonstop flights to Chennai using an A220-300.
Meanwhile, through a sales agreement between Air Austral and Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) passengers can travel from Reunion to Chennai via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi on 2x weekly flights, which can be booked through the Reunionese carrier. Air Austral flies twice weekly nonstop between Réunion and Bangkok, with B787-8s, according to the ch-aviation schedules module.
