Air India crash: Devastating tragedy threatens carrier's ambitious turnaround
Days after the devastating Air India-171 crash killed at least 270 people, investigators from across the world are putting their heads together to find out what exactly went wrong. So far, there is no indication of where the fault lies, and it could take months before we have an answer. But as the waiting game begins, the Tata Group - which owns the airline along with other iconic brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea – confronts a litany of unprecedented challenges at a critical juncture of the carrier's ambitious turnaround.The narrative was just beginning to change for Air India in the lead-up to the tragedy.In the hands of a new private owner - the Tatas bought the airline from the government in 2022 – Air India showed an operating profit, better revenues and fewer customer complaints.Although disgruntlement about poor service standards, dysfunctional in-house entertainment and flight delays hadn't entirely gone away, there was an understanding that these were niggling transition troubles as the airline undertook multiple complex mergers to streamline its operations.Cosmetically the improvements were beginning to show too; slick new livery and retrofitted interiors on some aircraft, brand-new A-350s in the fleet deployed on key routes and a record-breaking order for new planes to retire old ones and service India's booming aviation market.After years of neglect when Air India was under state ownership, the Tatas said earlier this year that they'd embarked on the "final climb phrase" of the carrier's transformation journey towards becoming a "world class" airline.Last week's horrific crash has now cast a shadow on these plans.
"I'll never fly Air India again" was a common refrain heard among people gripped by panic and fear last week. While Air India, and particularly the Dreamliners it flew, have a strong safety record, this knee-jerk reaction was to be expected, say experts, when a crash on this scale happens. This loss of passenger confidence could derail the turnaround efforts that were already under way. A spate of other reported incidents this month – including engines developing suspected technical snags and a hoax bomb threat aboard a plane carrying 156 passengers from Phuket to Delhi – could worsen matters."There will definitely be a short-term impact where people may be wary of flying Air India. The disaster was very tragic, many lives have been lost and the event will stay in people's memories for long," said Jitendra Bhargava, a former executive director with the airline."We are already hearing of cancelled bookings," Shukor Yusof, founder and analyst at Malaysia-based Endau Analytics, told the BBC."Air India was a difficult flag carrier to turn around, to begin with, bogged down by legacy and financial issues. There will be a need to pause as they grapple with the aftermath of the tragedy and this [the turnaround] will likely take more time than management had envisaged."A lot of resources will now have to be redirected to non-operational issues dealing with the crash, such as insurance, legal and reputation damage in the coming weeks, months and even years, says Mr Yusof.Drawing parallels with the unprecedented twin tragedies that Malaysia Airlines suffered in 2014, he said it took a full decade for the airline to turn a profit after those crashes.Air India will require time to "heal" too, he said, whereas the advantage of the exceptional growth in air travel in India "may now go to its rivals".The strain on operations is already beginning to show. Air India has said it is cancelling international services on its wide body aircraft by 15% until mid-July amid enhanced safety inspections and rising airspace restrictions.
Meanwhile, the investigation - and what it potentially throws up - will continue to hang over the airline.With authorities from the UK, US and India overseeing various safety inspections and regulatory aspects of the investigation, the airline will be under intense global scrutiny, according to Mark Martin, an aviation expert."Questions will be raised about operational and aircraft maintenance issues, and about what Air India has done to fix its old fleet," he said.The most critical step after any crisis is the recovery action and consistent communication around it, says Mitu Samar Jha, whose firm offers risk and reputation advice to companies and corporate leaders in Mumbai. And Air India will need to make sure it doesn't get this wrong.In a sense it is a triple whammy for the Tatas, who have the tough job of fielding questions on the fleet they inherited after acquiring Air India from the government, for Boeing's continuing troubles and their own maintenance and safety standards, she says."Investigations to identify the cause, corrective measures, and enhanced safety standards will follow soon but from the reputation lens, I hope they consistently communicate and that too authentically," says Ms Jha.Often, companies focus a lot on action post crisis but "fail to regularly update the larger world on the progress. This results in the formation of incorrect perspectives and loss of control over the narrative, aggravating the reputation loss", she adds.
But Air India hopes it can navigate this crisis from a position of strength.The carrier's CEO Campbell Wilson has highlighted the airline's commitment to co-operating with investigators and supporting the families of the victims.Earlier this week, Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran held a town hall meeting with employees asking them to stay resolute amid any criticism, Reuters reported. He said last week's plane crash was the "most heartbreaking" crisis of his career and the airline should use it as a catalyst to build a safer airline.The airline has some of the world's "best pilots and engineers" Sanjay Lazar, an aviation consultant told the BBC. Additionally, enhanced safety inspections ordered by India's regulator on all the carrier's 787 Dreamliners should be a morale booster for worried passengers."History indicates that post accidents and emergencies, airlines become ultra cautious, that is the human tendency. It's like a homeowner after a burglary, adds tons of locks. The airline will follow every comma and full stop in SOP [standard operating procedure]," said Mr Lazar.The Tatas may also take comfort from having Singapore Airlines (SIA) as a shareholder and partner - widely regarded as one of the world's best airlines. SIA could be instrumental in "helping nurse Air India back to health", said Mr Yusof.Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Air India crash latest: Investigators find emergency power likely came on before crash as 66 Dreamliner flights cancelled
Investigators probing the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 in which more than 270 people were killed have found that the aircraft's emergency power system was likely active just before impact. The Wall Street Journal reported that this possibly suggested an engine or hydraulic failure during takeoff, a rare and serious event in commercial aviation. However, the investigators were yet to determine whether engine, hydraulic, or other system failures activated the emergency power, according to the outlet, which cited people familiar with the probe. Air India has cancelled 66 Dreamliner flights since the 12 June crash in Ahmedabad, Indian aviation regulator DGCA said on Tuesday. The airline has also delayed multiple flights serviced by Boeing 787-8. It has attributed the interruptions to grounded aircraft, technical issues, restricted airspace, and heightened safety protocols. The DGCA, meanwhile, has found no major flaws in Air India's Dreamliners, but flagged maintenance delays and coordination issues. Air India cutting widebody international operations by 15% for few weeks Air India is cutting its international widebody operations by 15 per cent for a few weeks due to safety inspections and disruptions following the deadly crash of flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that killed 241 people on board. So far, 26 of the airline's 33 Dreamliners have been cleared after inspection. The airline, owned by the Tata Group, said the reductions will remain in place through at least mid-July to maintain operational stability, improve efficiency, and reduce passenger inconvenience. Air India added that inspections of the remaining aircraft will be carried out in the coming days, with further checks also scheduled for its Boeing 777 fleet. Air India also attributed the recent wave of flight cancellations, 83 in the past six days, to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and night curfews affecting several European and East Asian airspaces, Reuters reported. Maroosha Muzaffar19 June 2025 03:49 British man's family in distress over lack of support from UK and India governments The family of 25-year-old Faizan Rafik, a British man feared to be on the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last week, is still awaiting official confirmation of his fate. Despite providing DNA days ago, they've received no updates, leaving them in distress and without guidance, the BBC reported. Rafik was returning to the UK after visiting his wife in Gujarat. His cousin has called for more support from UK authorities and expressed frustration at the lack of communication from both Indian and British officials. Sameer Rafik, his cousin told the outlet that his family had been left 'completely stuck' and that they 'don't know what to do'. The crash killed 241 of 242 on board, including 53 Britons. Mr Rafik said: 'There's no update on him, we don't know if he's dead or alive.' 'We are still hoping to hear some good news from India but unfortunately we aren't getting any update from anywhere.'Faizan's dad was asked to give DNA - it's been more than four days now. We were supposed to have heard from the hospital by Monday but we haven't heard anything. 'We need to get some update about my brother. Was he there in the flight crash? If he wasn't on the flight where is he? If he is on the flight then what's the condition of the body?' He added: 'We haven't had anything from the UK or India – it feels like he was the one paying tax to this country and the government doesn't bother about the person who has died. People hold candles as they take part in a special prayer ceremony for the victims of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane, which crashed during take-off from an airport, in Ahmedabad, India, 17 June 2025 'It feels very awful. He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin. 'We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment.' Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 22:00 Boeing 787's emergency-power system likely active before Air India crash - report Investigators looking into the deadly crash of Air India Flight 171, which claimed over 270 lives, have found that the aircraft's emergency power system was likely activated shortly before impact. According to The Wall Street Journal, this could point to a possible engine or hydraulic failure during takeoff, an extremely rare but serious issue in commercial aviation. However, investigators have not yet confirmed what triggered the emergency system, the report said, citing sources familiar with the inquiry. Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 21:00 Why did the Air India flight crash? Here's how experts will investigate the disaster in Ahmedabad Investigators in India are working to identify the cause of the Air India plane crash that killed all but one of the 242 passengers on board on Thursday 12 June. Dozens of people on the ground also died. It was the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The flight, which had been bound for London Gatwick, came down shortly after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft departed at 08:08:44 GMT (1.38pm local time) from runway 23 and climbed only a few hundred feet before crashing less than a minute later. With speculation rife about the cause of the disaster, Indian safety experts have been joined by teams from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to work out what happened as the disaster on flight AI171 unfolded. Read more by Simon Calder here: Why did Air India flight crash? How experts will investigate the Ahmedabad disaster Speculation is rife about the causes of the disaster, as experts begin to piece together how flight AI171 crash unfolded Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 20:00 Locals say Air India pilot 'sacrificed his life to save others' Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a pilot for Air India, is being hailed as a hero for diverting his falling plane away from a densely populated area near Ahmedabad airport, potentially saving hundreds of lives. Air India flight AI171, bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew, as well as at least 29 people on the ground, including medical students. Locals believe Mr Sabharwal deliberately steered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner away from their apartment building. Locals say Air India pilot 'sacrificed his life to save others' Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 19:00 India orders nationwide airport emergency drills after devastating Air India crash In a 13 June memo titled ' Updating Airport Emergency Plan' and reviewed by Reuters, India's aviation authorities instructed all government-managed airports to conduct a full-scale emergency training exercise on 30 June. These drills, which simulate crisis scenarios such as crashes or large-scale evacuations, are a standard component of airport preparedness and safety protocols. The directive came in the wake of the deadly Air India crash on 12 June in Ahmedabad, which claimed 241 lives onboard and killed several more on the ground. Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 18:00 Boeing 787 Dreamliner: a passenger and airline favourite, with some nightmares along the way The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was the first truly 21st-century big jet. More than 1,000 are in service, and many passengers rate it more highly than other aircraft. The carbon-fibre twin-engined 787 was designed partly as a replacement for Boeing's veteran 767 – but also to introduce passenger-friendly benefits such as larger windows and higher cabin pressure. The Dreamliner was also accountant-friendly, burning about one-fifth less fuel than the 767, and allowed airlines' network planners to dream of ultra-long routes. The daily Qantas nonstop between London Heathrow and Perth in Western Australia, covering over 9,000 miles, is a doddle for a suitably configured 787. Boeing 787 Dreamliner: a passenger favourite, with some nightmares along the way The Man Who Pays His Way: The first fatal crash of the 787 in Ahmedabad will sharply increase the focus on the plane's airworthiness Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 17:00 He flew home to bury his father. The Air India crash took his life As families wait for DNA tests to confirm the identities of their loved ones who perished in the Air India crash, harrowing stories emerge from the decade's worst aviation disaster. Namita Singh reports from Ahmedabad: As families wait for DNA tests to confirm the identities of their loved ones who perished in the Air India crash, harrowing stories emerge from the decade's worst aviation disaster. Namita Singh reports from Ahmedabad Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 16:00 Boy who recorded viral Ahmedabad crash video 'still not feeling like himself' Aryan Asari, a 17-year-old airplane enthusiast, was filming from his father's terrace in Ahmedabad when he witnessed and recorded the horrific Air India Dreamliner crash that killed 241 onboard and nearly 30 on the ground. A lifelong fan of planes, Aryan was excited to see aircraft up close during his first visit to the city. But the trauma of watching the plane spiral and explode has left him deeply shaken. 'I saw the plane. It was going down and down. Then it wobbled and crashed right before my eyes,' he told the BBC. His video became crucial to investigators and went viral.'My son is so scared that he has stopped using his phone,' his father, Maganbhai Asari, told the outlet. Aryan is now trying to recover from the emotional impact, but his father fears he may never look at planes the same way again. 'This was Aryan's first time in Ahmedabad. Actually, it was the first time in his life that he left the village,' Mr Asari said. Retired army soldier Mr Asari now lives alone in a modest rooftop room near Ahmedabad airport, while his wife and two children remain in their ancestral village on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. 'Whenever I'd call, Aryan would ask if I could spot aeroplanes from our terrace and I would tell him you could see hundreds of them streaking the sky.' The family had been swamped with interview requests after the viral video, and Aryan had a traumatic experience dealing with all that. 'My son was so disturbed by then that we decided to send him back to the village.' Aryan has now resumed school but is 'still not feeling like himself. His mother tells me that every time his phone rings, he gets scared', Mr Asari said. 'I know he will be fine with time. But I don't think my son will try looking for airplanes in the sky again.' Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 15:00 British families of Air India crash victims feel 'utterly abandoned' by UK government Families of British victims of the Air India plane crash are experiencing "pain and frustration" due to delays in identifying and repatriating their loved ones, according to a government minister. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday, marking one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of British casualties. The aircraft crashed into a medical college hostel in a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. Among the deceased, 52 were British nationals. The sole survivor was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. Relatives of Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa, who died in the crash, said they felt 'utterly abandoned' by the UK Government and called for more support on the ground in India. Maroosha Muzaffar18 June 2025 14:00
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Indian shares set for weak start on Middle East turmoil, hawkish Fed
June 19 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks are set to open lower on Thursday, pressured by hawkish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve and persistent geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East. The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,768, as of 7:33 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab will open below the previous close of 24,812.05. Broader Asian markets declined, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab slipping 0.8%. On Wall Street, U.S. equities closed largely unchanged after the Fed left interest rates steady but signalled a slower path for rate cuts, projecting two reductions by year-end. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also noted that goods inflation could accelerate over the summer, partly driven by tariffs linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. A slower pace of monetary easing is likely to curb foreign investors' appetite for riskier emerging market assets such as Indian equities. Geopolitical risks remain front and center. The Israel-Iran conflict stretched into a seventh day, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejecting Trump's demand for unconditional surrender. In response, Trump said his patience had run out and warned of unpredictable consequences. "Indian market continues to wrestle with macro headwinds —rising crude prices, sticky inflation, and geopolitical flashpoints — all of which cloud earnings visibility," Bajaj Broking Research wrote in a note. Both the Nifty and Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab indexes fell in the last two sessions, but the losses were marginal. Domestic institutional investors purchased Indian shares for the 22nd straight session on Wednesday, buying stock worth 10.91 billion rupees ($126.26 million), and helping cushion volatility from foreign flows. ** Puravankara ( opens new tab secures contract worth 2.72 billion rupees for Bengaluru residential project ** Hero MotoCorp ( opens new tab says it will introduce Vida VX2 electric scooters with Battery-as-a-Service model, starting from July 1, 2025 ** Abbott India ( opens new tab and MSD Pharmaceuticals enter into a strategic distribution agreement to broaden access of MSD's oral anti-diabetes medications in India ($1 = 86.4100 Indian rupees)
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Air India crash: Devastating tragedy threatens carrier's ambitious turnaround
Days after the devastating Air India-171 crash killed at least 270 people, investigators from across the world are putting their heads together to find out what exactly went wrong. So far, there is no indication of where the fault lies, and it could take months before we have an answer. But as the waiting game begins, the Tata Group - which owns the airline along with other iconic brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea – confronts a litany of unprecedented challenges at a critical juncture of the carrier's ambitious narrative was just beginning to change for Air India in the lead-up to the the hands of a new private owner - the Tatas bought the airline from the government in 2022 – Air India showed an operating profit, better revenues and fewer customer disgruntlement about poor service standards, dysfunctional in-house entertainment and flight delays hadn't entirely gone away, there was an understanding that these were niggling transition troubles as the airline undertook multiple complex mergers to streamline its the improvements were beginning to show too; slick new livery and retrofitted interiors on some aircraft, brand-new A-350s in the fleet deployed on key routes and a record-breaking order for new planes to retire old ones and service India's booming aviation years of neglect when Air India was under state ownership, the Tatas said earlier this year that they'd embarked on the "final climb phrase" of the carrier's transformation journey towards becoming a "world class" week's horrific crash has now cast a shadow on these plans. "I'll never fly Air India again" was a common refrain heard among people gripped by panic and fear last week. While Air India, and particularly the Dreamliners it flew, have a strong safety record, this knee-jerk reaction was to be expected, say experts, when a crash on this scale happens. This loss of passenger confidence could derail the turnaround efforts that were already under way. A spate of other reported incidents this month – including engines developing suspected technical snags and a hoax bomb threat aboard a plane carrying 156 passengers from Phuket to Delhi – could worsen matters."There will definitely be a short-term impact where people may be wary of flying Air India. The disaster was very tragic, many lives have been lost and the event will stay in people's memories for long," said Jitendra Bhargava, a former executive director with the airline."We are already hearing of cancelled bookings," Shukor Yusof, founder and analyst at Malaysia-based Endau Analytics, told the BBC."Air India was a difficult flag carrier to turn around, to begin with, bogged down by legacy and financial issues. There will be a need to pause as they grapple with the aftermath of the tragedy and this [the turnaround] will likely take more time than management had envisaged."A lot of resources will now have to be redirected to non-operational issues dealing with the crash, such as insurance, legal and reputation damage in the coming weeks, months and even years, says Mr parallels with the unprecedented twin tragedies that Malaysia Airlines suffered in 2014, he said it took a full decade for the airline to turn a profit after those India will require time to "heal" too, he said, whereas the advantage of the exceptional growth in air travel in India "may now go to its rivals".The strain on operations is already beginning to show. Air India has said it is cancelling international services on its wide body aircraft by 15% until mid-July amid enhanced safety inspections and rising airspace restrictions. Meanwhile, the investigation - and what it potentially throws up - will continue to hang over the authorities from the UK, US and India overseeing various safety inspections and regulatory aspects of the investigation, the airline will be under intense global scrutiny, according to Mark Martin, an aviation expert."Questions will be raised about operational and aircraft maintenance issues, and about what Air India has done to fix its old fleet," he most critical step after any crisis is the recovery action and consistent communication around it, says Mitu Samar Jha, whose firm offers risk and reputation advice to companies and corporate leaders in Mumbai. And Air India will need to make sure it doesn't get this a sense it is a triple whammy for the Tatas, who have the tough job of fielding questions on the fleet they inherited after acquiring Air India from the government, for Boeing's continuing troubles and their own maintenance and safety standards, she says."Investigations to identify the cause, corrective measures, and enhanced safety standards will follow soon but from the reputation lens, I hope they consistently communicate and that too authentically," says Ms companies focus a lot on action post crisis but "fail to regularly update the larger world on the progress. This results in the formation of incorrect perspectives and loss of control over the narrative, aggravating the reputation loss", she adds. But Air India hopes it can navigate this crisis from a position of carrier's CEO Campbell Wilson has highlighted the airline's commitment to co-operating with investigators and supporting the families of the this week, Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran held a town hall meeting with employees asking them to stay resolute amid any criticism, Reuters reported. He said last week's plane crash was the "most heartbreaking" crisis of his career and the airline should use it as a catalyst to build a safer airline has some of the world's "best pilots and engineers" Sanjay Lazar, an aviation consultant told the BBC. Additionally, enhanced safety inspections ordered by India's regulator on all the carrier's 787 Dreamliners should be a morale booster for worried passengers."History indicates that post accidents and emergencies, airlines become ultra cautious, that is the human tendency. It's like a homeowner after a burglary, adds tons of locks. The airline will follow every comma and full stop in SOP [standard operating procedure]," said Mr Tatas may also take comfort from having Singapore Airlines (SIA) as a shareholder and partner - widely regarded as one of the world's best airlines. SIA could be instrumental in "helping nurse Air India back to health", said Mr BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.
