The Canadian flag carrier will suspend its flights from Vancouver (YVR) in the province of British Columbia to Delhi (DEL), India, from June 2 to (at least) early September. Air Canada says the route has become operationally unviable due to the closure of airspaces following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war.

Flights from Montreal and Toronto will remain on the schedule

Air Canada announced the suspension in a statement issued on Wednesday. The airline said it will rebook passengers on affected flights on other services connecting the two cities via a stopover free of charge if they still wish to travel. Air Canada will still operate 11 flights per week between Canada and India, departing from Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL).

Flights from Canada's east coast follow different flight paths to Asia than those from the west, which do not necessitate a fuel stop even with Ukrainian and Russian airspace out-of-bounds. The statement from the airline reads,

“The route is operationally constrained because of extended flying times and a re-fueling stop that is required due to the current flight paths taken to go around Russian and Ukraine airspace.”

Air Canada Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Jaipur and Ahemdabad got some new visitors on Monday due to the disruptions. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Additionally, the airline expects meteorological conditions such as summer winds across South Asia to further compound the problems, making the route unviable over a large portion of the Northern Hemisphere summer 2022 season.

Vancouver to Delhi flights are suspended from June 2 and in the opposite direction from June 4. The services are currently scheduled to resume from Canada starting September 6, and the return leg will recommence on September 8.

Competition on the route can still use Russian airspace freely

Air India also flies nonstop services between Vancouver and Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, operating one of its Boeing 777s on the route. However, as India has not joined Canada, the United States, and the EU in sanctioning Russia over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, Russian airspace is still open to India's airlines. Under normal circumstances, there are typically eight weekly direct flights between the two airlines from Vancouver to Delhi over the summer months.

AI russia flight path
Air India can still operate AI186 from YVR to DEL through Russian airspace. Photo: FlightRadar24.com 

Third suspension since service commenced

Air Canada first introduced direct flights between Vancouver and Delhi in 2016. However, this is not the first time the airline has suspended the service. Tensions between India and Pakistan in 2019 forced the carrier to pause the route, due to the latter closing its airspace for several months. Of course, more recently, India shut its borders and airports to all scheduled international air traffic in a bid to stave off COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Air Canada said it remains committed to the Indian market and added that it “continues to monitor global situations very closely and may reinstate its Vancouver-Delhi route earlier if conditions permit”.

Have your travels been affected by the closure of the large combined airspaces of Russia and Ukraine? Has your plane had to take an unusual route or stop for re-fueling along the way as a result? Leave a comment below and share your experience.