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Air India To Cut International Services By 15% Amid Ongoing Safety Checks On Boeing 787 Fleet
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Air India has cancelled 83 flights to be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner between June 12 – the day of the Ahmedabad plane crash – and June 18
Amid multiple flight cancellations or delays following the plane crash in Ahmedabad, Air India on Wednesday said it will reduce international services on widebody aircraft by 15 per cent.
Air India said this is to ensure stability of operations, better efficiency and minimise inconvenience to passengers. It has cancelled 83 flights to be operated with Boeing 787 between June 12 – the day of the crash – and June 18. The cuts will be implemented by June 20 and will continue till 'at least mid-July".
'…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," Air India said in a press release.
Air India apologised to affected passengers and said they will be informed 'in advance and make its best efforts to accommodate them on alternate flights". It said in such cases, passengers will be eligible for rescheduling without cost or a full refund.
'Passengers will also be offered a choice to reschedule their travel without any cost or to be given full refund, as per their choice. The revised schedule of our international services effective from 20 June, 2025 will be shared shortly," it added.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner – the model type of the crashed Air India flight 171 – is a widebody aircraft. These large commercial airliners can accommodate two passenger aisles and are designed for long-haul and high-capacity routes, mostly international, with the capacity to carry between 200 and 500 passengers.
Air India said it has made temporary route curtailment due to 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 'cautious approach" by the engineering staff and Air India pilots.
It said concerned agencies are probing the reasons for the plane crash on June 12, which claimed 241 lives on board. The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) had mandated 'enhanced safety inspection" across Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 fleet.
The airline service said out of 33 aircraft, inspections have been completed on 26 and these were cleared for service. The remaining aircraft will be inspected in the coming days while the Boeing 777 fleet will also undergo enhanced safety checks, it said.
First Published:
June 18, 2025, 23:15 IST
