Indian Aviation Hit Hard by Climate Change and Inclement Weather

MUMBAI: Climate change and inclement weather are taking a heavy toll on aviation, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation's first quarter report for 2026 showing that 19.1% of flights across the country were cancelled for weather reasons. In addition, passengers suffered from non-timely flights, with reactive delays being the most impactful factor. Climate change causes issues such as flight delays, cancellations or diversions. Technical reasons account for 38.4% of flight cancellations, while operational reasons account for 27.2%. Among domestic cancellations, IndiaOne Air had the highest proportion in March, followed by Alliance Air, SpiceJet, FlyOne, Star Air, Air India Group, IndiGo and Akasa Air. Akasa Air had 0.07% cancellations in March. This was the sixth reason for commercial flight cancellations.