In the aftermath of the deadly crash that killed all but one person on board its AI171 flight from Ahmedabad to London, Air India said it is cutting down its international operations on its widebody aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulators, had mandated ‘Enhanced Safety Inspection’ across Air India’s Boeing aircraft fleet following the crash last Thursday, which also claimed at least 30 lives on the ground when it crashed into the hostel of a nearby medical college.
In a statement on Wednesday, Air India said out of total 33 787-8/9 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service. Inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days.
“The fact that 26 aircraft have been cleared gives reassurance in the safety measures and procedures that we follow. As a matter of added precaution, Air India will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet and, going forward, we will continue to cooperate with the authorities to ensure the safety of our passengers, our crew and our aircraft, which remains our highest priority,” Air India said in the statement.
Air India said there were other reasons as well for the airline to cancel 83 international flights over six days following the crash.
“Due to the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, the ongoing enhanced safety inspections, and also the necessary cautious approach being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots, there have been certain disruptions in our international operations over the last six days leading to a total of 83 cancellations,” it said.
“Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on widebody aircraft by 15% for the next few weeks.
“The cuts will be implemented between now and 20 June and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July. This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions.”
Apologising to the passengers affected, Air India said it will inform them in advance and make its best efforts to accommodate them on alternate flights. Passengers will also be offered a choice to reschedule their travel without any cost or given a full refund, as per their choice.
Meanwhile, Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran said in an interview that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed had a clean engine history.
Chandrasekaran told Times Now that flight 171’s right engine was new and installed in March 2025, and that the left engine was last serviced in 2023.
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