AI Cuts 15% of International Flights Amid Safety Checks
19 Jun 2025 10:34 PM IST19 Jun 2025 10:34 PM IST
The airline said that the DGCA-mandated "enhanced safety inspection’ across Air India’s Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet is going on
An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
New Delhi: Grappling with enhanced inspections and airspace closure due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, Air India has announced a 15 per cent reduction in its international flights operated with wide-body planes till mid-July. The airline that has been facing disruptions in its international operations, especially with the ongoing safety checks of Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft after the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, will now undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet as a matter of added precaution.
"Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on wide-body aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks. The cuts will be implemented between June 20 and will continue until at least mid-July. This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions,” Air India said, citing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, and the ongoing enhanced safety inspections.
The airline added that the DGCA-mandated "enhanced safety inspection’ across Air India’s Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet is going on and out of a total of 33 aircraft, inspections have been completed on 26 and cleared for service. 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,” the airline said in a statement. As a matter of added precaution, Air India will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet.
“Going forward, we will continue to cooperate with the authorities, viz AAIB, DGCA, MoCA to ensure the safety of our passengers, our crew and our aircraft, which remains our highest priority,” Air India said.
In a personal message to the frequent fliers of Air India, CEO Campbell Wilson tried to provide clarity about flight AI171 that crashed in Ahmedabad. He said the flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft. First Officer Clive Kunder had over 3,400 hours of flying experience. The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025.
“Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025 and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,” Mr Campbell wrote.
In a separate development, the Leh-bound IndiGo plane returned to Delhi due to technical issues. The plane returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday morning after being airborne for over two hours.
"IndiGo flight 6E 2006 operating from Delhi to Leh on June 19 returned to origin due to a technical issue which caused operational restrictions to land in Leh. As per procedures, the pilot returned to Delhi," an airline spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the aircraft is undergoing necessary maintenance before resuming operations and that an alternative aircraft has been arranged to fly the customers to Leh.
"Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on wide-body aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks. The cuts will be implemented between June 20 and will continue until at least mid-July. This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions,” Air India said, citing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, and the ongoing enhanced safety inspections.
The airline added that the DGCA-mandated "enhanced safety inspection’ across Air India’s Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet is going on and out of a total of 33 aircraft, inspections have been completed on 26 and cleared for service. 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,” the airline said in a statement. As a matter of added precaution, Air India will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet.
“Going forward, we will continue to cooperate with the authorities, viz AAIB, DGCA, MoCA to ensure the safety of our passengers, our crew and our aircraft, which remains our highest priority,” Air India said.
In a personal message to the frequent fliers of Air India, CEO Campbell Wilson tried to provide clarity about flight AI171 that crashed in Ahmedabad. He said the flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft. First Officer Clive Kunder had over 3,400 hours of flying experience. The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025.
“Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025 and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,” Mr Campbell wrote.
In a separate development, the Leh-bound IndiGo plane returned to Delhi due to technical issues. The plane returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday morning after being airborne for over two hours.
"IndiGo flight 6E 2006 operating from Delhi to Leh on June 19 returned to origin due to a technical issue which caused operational restrictions to land in Leh. As per procedures, the pilot returned to Delhi," an airline spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the aircraft is undergoing necessary maintenance before resuming operations and that an alternative aircraft has been arranged to fly the customers to Leh.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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