Air India to restore some international flights after fatal crash

Air India on Tuesday said it is set to partially restore its international flight schedule that was temporarily reduced for “safety checks” following the tragic crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. 

The airline said it will resume some of the flights starting from August 1, while full-restoration is planned for October 1.

“That Pause enabled Air India to perform additional precautionary checks on its Boeing 787 aircraft as well as accommodating longer flying times arising from airspace closures over Pakistan and the Middle East,” said the Tata Group-owned airline.

From August 1 to September 30, Air India will operate 3x weekly flights between Ahmedabad and London (Heathrow), replacing currently operating 5x weekly flights between Ahmedabad and London (Gatwick).

The Tata Group-owned airline had reduced flights to Europe and North America by 15 per cent till mid-July to increase contingency aircraft to cater for cancellations. Most of the cancelled flights were operated by Boeing 787 aircraft and were grounded due to enhanced inspections mandated by the DGCA.

The disruption was further compounded by the closure of Iranian airspace.

As the schedule reductions taken as part of the Safety Pause had been implemented until July 31 2025 and the restoration to full operation is being phased, some services initially planned to operate between 1 August and 30 September 2025 will be removed from the schedule.

“Air India is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer re-booking on alternative flights or a full refund, as per their preference. Air India apologises for the inconvenience. With the partial restoration, Air India operate more than 525 international flights per week on 63 short, long and ultra long-haul routes,” said the airline.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has instructed airlines to carry out checks on the locking mechanism of fuel control switches of Boeing aircraft in their fleets. The move comes in the wake of the preliminary investigation report into last month’s tragic Air India Boeing Dreamliner crash at Ahmedabad, in which 260 people were killed.

One of the key findings of the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau’s preliminary report on the crash was that the twin engines of the ill-fated Boeing plane shut down seconds after take-off as the fuel supply was cut off.

Picture Courtesy: IANS