At least 13 Air India Dreamliner flights, including one on the Ahmedabad-London route that was restarted after a fatal crash on June 12, were grounded due to technical or operational issues on Tuesday as regulatory checks and the closure of airspace on some sectors continued to disrupt the airline’s schedules.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said 66 Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights — the type of aircraft involved in the crash — were cancelled by the airline since June 12, among 83 cancellations involving the airline’s broader widebody fleet. On June 12, the airline operated 90 wide-body flights, out of which 50 were on 787s. Out of these, six were cancelled, including five on Dreamliners.
To be sure, such cancellations aren’t new to the airline. According to figures presented in Parliament, Air India averaged around four cancellations per day due to technical or operational reasons in 2024, based on data till September.
The regulator held a high-level meeting with senior officials of Air India and Air India Express on Tuesday and stated the airlines are “currently operating over 1,000 flights daily across domestic and international sectors.”
The airline was told by the aviation regulator to conduct enhanced safety checks on its fleet of Dreamliners after Thursday’s crash, while teams of Indian, US, and UK investigators as well as those from Boeing and the engine-maker GE are in Ahmedabad to investigate the reasons behind the accident.
Among the flights cancelled on Tuesday was Air India Flight AI-159, a Dreamliner, first scheduled to depart Ahmedabad at 1.10pm. A delayed depature set for 3pm was cancelled due to the “unavailability of the aircraft”., the airline said, adding that the jet that was meant to fly on the route had arrived late from London. Airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks had led to a delay in the turnaround of aircraft, a spokesperson said, while denying claims of a technical snag.
“Consequently, flight AI-170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar of 17 June stands cancelled,” the spokesperson added.
AI-159 is the Air India’s new designation for Flight 171. It was this flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — that crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday, killing 241 out of 242 passengers and crew and at least 30 more at the crash site and its neighbourhood.
HT reported on June 14that Air India would withdraw the flight number 171 for the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick and replace it with 159.
The airline had warned on June 13 that a wave of Israeli attacks on Iran, and the consequent closure of airspace, could potentially affect flight schedules.
According to DGCA, 24 of the company’s 33 Dreamliners have undergone these checks as of Tuesday. “An additional 2 aircraft are planned for completion today, with 1 more scheduled for tomorrow. The remaining 6 aircraft include 2 aircraft, which are presently AOG at Delhi,” the DGCA said in a statement. AOG refers to “aircraft on ground”, jets that are out of use temporarily, which could be due to maintenance work.
Another seven flights were delayed, which included two return flights impacted because the jet that was to be used on the sector was held up, either due to the safety checks or because of the route-related issues.
Among this was AI-143 from Delhi to Paris, which was cancelled after issues identified during mandatory pre-flight checks required time to address. “The mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue which is being presently addressed. However, in view of the flight coming under the restrictions on night operations at Paris airport, the said flight has been cancelled,” the airline said. As a result, the return flight AI-142 from Paris to Delhi on June 18 was also cancelled.
Air India’s flight AI-180 from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata was terminated in Kolkata after one of its engines developed a technical snag. The Boeing 777-200LR was carrying 211 passengers. The return flight AI-179 from Mumbai to San Francisco was also cancelled. The airline typically operates direct flights on this route, but due to ongoing geopolitical issues including the closure of Pakistani airspace, the flight was rerouted with a planned technical halt in Kolkata.
Other cancellations included Delhi-Dubai (AI-915), Bengaluru-London Heathrow (AI-133), and Delhi-Vienna (AI-153). Additionally, flights on Delhi-Indore-Delhi, Delhi-Trivandrum-Delhi, Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Hyderabad-Delhi were cancelled due to weather reasons.
Safety expert Mohan Ranganathan said the multiple disruptions were expected given the circumstances. “The airline has lost one Dreamliner aircraft in the crash, it is undergoing checks on all the B787s that takes hours to get clearance for operations. Plus, Pakistan and Iran airspace is closed leading to crew duty time limitations — all this will definitely have a major impact on their network.”
The airline said it was providing hotel accommodation and offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling to affected passengers, while making alternative arrangements to fly them to their destinations.