Air route suspension has rarely been examined in the academic literature. To address this void, this study provides insight into how aviation and non-aviation factors affect the decision to suspend domestic air routes in Australia. It also analyses the business relationships and negotiation processes followed by airports, airlines, and destination management organizations (DMOs) to avoid air route suspensions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key aviation and tourism stakeholders directly impacted by suspended routes. The outcomes of this paper demonstrate that while most of the major reasons for air route suspension in Australia are mentioned in existing literature and are linked to demand, other factors have not been previously deeply investigated, including the ways stakeholders can be involved to avoid air routes’ suspension. The paper also explores and identifies strengths and weaknesses in the relationship between airlines, DMOs and airports.