Air India cuts international widebody flight operations by 15 pc over Ahmedabad mishap, Iran-Israel conflict

Air India has decided to cut its international services using widebody aircraft by 15 per cent owing to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and inspections of its fleet in the aftermath of the recent tragic crash involving its London-bound Boeing aircraft. According to the airline, services have been cut till mid-July.

 

In a statement on Wednesday, Air India said, "Due to the 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 also the necessary cautious approach being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots, there have been certain disruptions in our international operations over the last six days leading to a total of 83 cancellations."

 

 

The airline added that given the situation, it has decided to cut down services to "minimise inconvenience to passengers". "Air India has decided to reduce its international services on widebody aircraft by 15 pc for the next few weeks. The cuts will be implemented between now and June 20 and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July. This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions," it said. 

 

"Passengers will also be offered a choice to reschedule their travel without any cost or to be given full refund, as per their choice," he added. Air India said checks are being carried out of its fleet and they are cooperating with investigators in the probe into the tragic flight crash in Ahmedabad on June 12.

 

As many as 241 passengers onboard the London-bound aircraft from Ahmedabad died in the fatal crash, and only one passenger survived. Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was of the victims of the crash. 

 

According to Air India, the Directorate General Civil Aviation had mandated enhanced safety inspection across its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. "Out of total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days. The fact that 26 aircraft have been cleared gives reassurance in the safety measures and procedures that we follow," it said. Air India said it will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet. 

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