Air India To Fully Resume International Operations From October 1
Air India has begun a "phased restoration" of its international operations and will return to a full roster of flights - i.e., before the June 12 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad - by October 1, the airline's CEO, Campbell Wilson, said in a company statement Wednesday.
After the tragedy - London-bound AI 171 lost thrust 32 seconds after take-off and crashed into a hostel building 2km from the airport, killing 274 people - Air India partially halted international flights pending checks, including those advised by the US aviation regulator in 2018.
And India's regulator, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, ordered Air India and IndiGo - the only two commercial operators of the Dreamliner in the country - to also conduct an extensive safety audit, with the focus on fuel supply control switches in Boeing Dreamliners.
An initial inquiry by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said the switches - designed to not move accidentally during flight - had moved from the 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' positions.
The discovery triggered a row. Foreign media reported that the senior pilot - Captain Sumeet Sabharwal - deliberately switched off fuel supply and crashed the plane. The claim was emphatically shot down by the government, as "unverified" and "irresponsible (reporting)".
The final report - which should explain exactly what happened - is pending.
On July 16 Air India said it had completed all checks and found no significant issue.
"This measured approach ensures we complete every verification (process) thoroughly and resume service with complete confidence," Mr Wilson told customers this afternoon.
The Air India boss also acknowledged "some operational challenges over the last few weeks", and said, "Rest assured... we take this seriously and we are committed to strengthening our internal processes to minimise the inconvenience that such circumstances cause you..."
Air India has had to battle turbulence since the crash, with multiple instances of 'technical' issues or snags grounding and/or delaying planes flying domestic and international sectors.
On Monday, for instance, a Kolkata-bound Air India Xpress had to return to Bengaluru after flying for over two hours. And on Sunday another 'technical' snag forced the cancellation of a Singapore-Chennai service. The airline has also had to deal with pilots facing mental trauma; last month the airline confirmed 112 pilots went on medical leave four days after the crash.
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