Air India cancelled several international flights on Tuesday, raising fresh concerns about the airline’s operational stability—especially following last week’s deadly crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Seven long-haul flights were called off in a single day, mostly due to technical issues and aircraft unavailability.
Six of the affected flights were scheduled to be operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners—the same aircraft type involved in the Ahmedabad crash on 12 June, which killed over 270 people. The cancelled routes included services between major cities such as Delhi, Paris, Dubai, Vienna, Ahmedabad, London, Bengaluru, and San Francisco.
List of cancelled flights:
- AI915: Delhi to Dubai – Boeing 787-8
- AI153: Delhi to Vienna – Boeing 787-8
- AI143: Delhi to Paris – Boeing 787-8
- AI159: Ahmedabad to London – Boeing 787-8
- AI170: London to Amritsar – Boeing 787-8
- AI133: Bengaluru to London – Boeing 787-8
- AI179: Mumbai to San Francisco – Boeing 777
India Today reports that the Delhi–Paris flight (AI143) was grounded after technical problems were found during pre-flight checks. Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad–London flight was cancelled due to a shortage of aircraft. This was meant to be the first flight on that route since the crash, and its number had been changed from AI171 to AI159 following the incident.
Since the accident, Air India has increased safety inspections across its fleet, particularly for Boeing Dreamliners. These extra checks appear to be putting additional strain on the airline’s operations and may be contributing to the wave of cancellations.
In a related incident, Air India flight AI180—travelling from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata—suffered a technical fault early on Tuesday. Passengers were asked to disembark in Kolkata after a snag was detected in one of the aircraft’s engines.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has called an urgent meeting with senior officials from Air India and Air India Express.
Although the exact agenda hasn’t been shared yet, officials say the meeting will likely focus on the recent technical problems, delays, and sudden flight cancellations.
Air India has said sorry to passengers for the inconvenience and is offering full refunds or free rescheduling. The airline added that it’s doing everything it can to get things back on track as soon as possible.