Air India’s Delhi-Toronto route has turned non-stop from August 1, with a new Boeing 787-9 aircraft deployed and the earlier fuel stop at Vienna removed.

The change is expected to cut close to three hours off the journey, bringing flying time down to about 17 hours from around 20 hours with the fuel stop.

The return Toronto-Delhi leg will remain non-stop, with a flying time of up to 16 hours.

Air India is also increasing frequency on the route from five weekly flights to a daily service starting August 1.

The new 787-9 aircraft on the route features 30 private suites in Business Class, 28 Premium Economy seats and 238 Economy seats, with cabins combining contemporary design and Indian-inspired aesthetics.

Air India said the removal of the fuel stop is subject to available airspace along the route.

The move is part of the airline’s wider fleet modernisation drive, which has introduced new aircraft and refreshed cabins across several international routes.

Vienna had served as the fuel stop on the Delhi-Toronto sector for several years before this change.

Air India also reinstated its codeshare agreement with Air Canada in December 2025, five years after it was suspended during the pandemic, giving customers access to additional points across Canada beyond its own network.

Every seat aboard the new aircraft is equipped with Thales’ AVANT Up in-flight entertainment system, featuring high-definition screens, Bluetooth headphone pairing and modern charging points.

Toronto ranks among Air India’s several direct North American destinations, alongside cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Vancouver.

Vienna had served as the enroute fuel stop for the Delhi-Toronto sector for several years, adding significantly to overall journey time for passengers travelling between India and Canada.

Air India has been steadily inducting new aircraft and refreshing cabin products across its international network as part of a broader fleet modernisation programme in recent years.

(Image: Photo by Steve Knight, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)

Air India’s Delhi-Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended until September 30, the airline has confirmed, citing ongoing security risks and airspace challenges across West Asia.

The route had previously been suspended only through the end of July, with resumption expected around now, but the airline has extended the timeline by a further two months.

This marks at least the third extension of the suspension, which was first pushed to the end of May before being moved to the end of July.

More than 40,000 Indian nationals in Israel remain affected by the continued suspension, according to figures cited in reports on the disruption.

With no direct flights running, passengers travelling between India and Israel currently have to route through hubs such as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, adding four to eight hours to their journeys.

Air India said it would reassess the security situation closer to the new target date before resuming ticket sales for the route.

The airline continues to offer full refunds to passengers whose bookings have been affected.

The extension follows ongoing coordination between international aviation bodies and India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the regional security situation.

El Al, Israel’s national carrier, has been operating full schedules since Ben Gurion Airport fully reopened in April following a ceasefire, while Air India has kept its Delhi-Tel Aviv route suspended.

A number of major international airlines have similarly kept their Tel Aviv routes suspended or reduced in recent months, reflecting broader caution around the region’s airspace despite the ceasefire.

Air India had originally suspended its Delhi-Tel Aviv route in response to escalating regional tensions, and has pushed back the resumption date multiple times since as the security situation in West Asia has failed to stabilise.

Passengers travelling between India and Israel currently have to route through third-country hubs such as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, adding several hours to journey times compared with the previous direct service.

(Image: Photo by Eluveitie (Beata May), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Khajuraho Airport has been named India’s top airport despite having no commercial flights for two months.

The ranking comes from the 2026 National Service and Customer Satisfaction Index survey conducted by the Airports Authority of India, which judged airports on passenger facilities, cleanliness, security and service quality rather than flight volume.

Flights at Khajuraho have been suspended through July and August for runway and other technical works, with services set to resume around October.

Before the suspension, the airport ran only two scheduled flights, to Delhi and Varanasi.

Airport director Santosh Singh said the ranking “reflected the hard work of the entire airport staff and the trust of passengers,” noting that the survey was carried out while flights were still active.

He added that commercial services would resume once the runway work was complete.

Bhopal’s Raja Bhoj Airport placed third nationally in the same survey, and Khajuraho had also topped the AAI’s customer satisfaction survey in December 2025.

Local residents have questioned the mismatch between the airport’s top ranking and the complete lack of flights this July and August.

Khajuraho Airport’s runway is 2,286 metres long and 45 metres wide, and its terminal building, inaugurated in January 2016, was constructed at a cost of roughly Rs 90 crore.

Most travellers using the airport are headed to the nearby Khajuraho Group of Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its intricately carved medieval temples.

The Airports Authority of India conducts its National Service and Customer Satisfaction Index survey periodically to benchmark airports on the quality of the passenger experience they offer, independent of how much traffic they handle.

Khajuraho is best known internationally for its UNESCO World Heritage-listed group of temples, and the airport primarily serves tourists visiting the site as well as pilgrims and business travellers to the region.

(Image: Photo by Z thomas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)