Air India Express will restore its Chennai-Singapore service from October 25, but several international and domestic routes previously operated from Chennai will remain suspended under the airline’s Winter Schedule 2026.
The schedule will increase Air India Express’ operations from around 3,150 weekly flights in its Summer 2026 schedule to nearly 4,100 weekly flights during winter. The airline is expected to operate around 585 flights a day, including approximately 435 domestic and up to 150 international departures.
Despite the wider network expansion, Chennai will see only one previously operated international route return. The Chennai-Singapore service, suspended around three months ago, will resume with 14 flights a week. The flight will depart from Chennai International Airport at 2.05 am daily, while the return service from Singapore is scheduled to leave at around 8 pm.
Services from Chennai to Dubai, Sharjah, Dammam, Kuala Lumpur, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have not been included in the new winter schedule. Air India and Air India Express had earlier operated services to several of these destinations, but the routes were gradually reduced and subsequently discontinued.
The omissions also extend to domestic connectivity. Earlier services from Chennai to Port Blair, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Madurai have not been included in the new schedule. The absence of these routes leaves passengers without the earlier Air India Express and Air India network options on several high-demand domestic sectors.
Air India Express is instead adding services connecting Bengaluru with Tamil Nadu cities. From October 25, the airline will operate 14 flights a week between Bengaluru and Coimbatore, along with seven flights a week between Bengaluru and Madurai.
The airline said the Winter Schedule 2026 would expand its network to 65 stations and 220 routes, including more than 40 new routes. Its international network is also expected to grow from 83 routes to more than 100.
For Chennai passengers, however, the expansion does not restore most of the city’s earlier Air India Express connectivity. The schedule leaves key Gulf, Southeast Asian, island and domestic links outside the airline’s current network from Chennai, while adding capacity in other parts of the country.
The Chennai-Singapore service is scheduled to resume when the winter timetable comes into effect on October 25. The airline’s route network and flight frequencies will thereafter operate under the published Winter Schedule 2026.
