After Ahmedabad crash, Air India cuts international widebody flights by 15%

Air India has blamed a combination of factors for the disruption, including safety inspections and tensions between Israel, Iran affecting Middle East airspace.

Published on: Jun 19, 2025, 08:58:10 IST

By HT News Desk

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Air India has announced a 15 per cent reduction in its international widebody operations following the deadly June 12 crash of flight AI171 in Ahmedabad and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The enhanced inspection was ordered a day after the Air India flight from Ahmedabad crashed, killing 241 out of 242 people onboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (File Photo/AP)

The cuts, which affect flights using Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft, will remain in place until at least mid-July. The airline began implementing the changes on June 20, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday, reported Bloomberg.

“The curtailments are a painful measure to take, but are necessary following a devastating event which we are still working through and an unusual combination of external events,” Air India stated.

Air India blamed a combination of factors for the disruption, including safety inspections, night flying restrictions in parts of Europe and East Asia, and tensions between Israel and Iran affecting Middle East airspace.

Ongoing safety checks after crash

The airline said it is conducting one-time safety inspections across its Boeing 777 fleet “as a matter of added precaution.” It is also continuing enhanced checks on its 787 Dreamliners following the crash of London-bound flight, which killed nearly all 242 people onboard and dozens more on the ground.

Out of the 33 Dreamliners in its fleet, 26 have cleared inspections ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The rest will be inspected in the coming days, the airline said.

Clean record, Says Air India chairman

Meanwhile, Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran told Times Now that the ill-fated aircraft had a good maintenance record. “This particular aircraft, this specific tail, AI-171 has a clean history,” he said.

“There are speculations about human error, speculations about airlines, speculations about engines, maintenance, all kinds,” he added.

According to Chandrasekaran, the aircraft’s right engine was replaced in March 2025, and the left engine was last serviced in 2023, with the next maintenance scheduled for December 2025.

“Both engine histories are clean. Both pilots were excellent,” he said.

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HT News Desk
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