Air India is facing disruptions – including temporary service cuts to Canada – following the airline’s recent fatal crash. Additional safety inspections on its Dreamliner fleet have also led to flight delays and cancellations.
India’s aviation safety regulator ordered deeper checks on Boeing 787 aircrafts operated by the airline soon after its London-bound flight crashed during take-off in Ahmedabad city June 12, killing at least 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew.
The precautionary inspections, as well as the closure of airspace in some Middle Eastern countries, have strained Air India operations across domestic and international routes.
Among the routes affected (through July 15) are:
- Delhi-Toronto: Reduced from 13x weekly to 7x weekly
- Delhi-Vancouver: Reduced from 7x weekly to 5x weekly
- Delhi-London (Heathrow): Reduced from 24x weekly to 22x weekly
- Bengaluru-London (Heathrow): Reduced from 7x weekly to 6x weekly
Since the crash, Air India has cancelled operations for 83 wide-body flights, including 66 Dreamliners, according to data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India’s aviation safety regulator.
In a statement, Air India said wide-body aircraft service would remain curtailed by 15% until mid-July because of the unfolding conflict in the Middle East and the additional inspections. The airline said it would inform affected passengers and try to accommodate them with alternate flights.
The “curtailments are a painful measure to take, but are necessary,” the airline said.
The airline said in its statement that it has decided to also inspect all of its Boeing 777 airplanes in its fleet even though that model wasn’t involved in the crash.
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