Air India’s international operations were severely disrupted on Tuesday as seven international flights were cancelled due to various issues, including technical glitches and unavailability of aircraft. Notably, six of the cancelled flights involved Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners—the same aircraft model that crashed in Ahmedabad last week, resulting in over 270 fatalities.
Among the cancelled flights were AI 159 from Ahmedabad to London and AI 143 from Delhi to Paris. Both aircraft were grounded after technical issues were detected during pre-flight checks. Air India confirmed that these were precautionary measures taken to ensure passenger safety.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and are making alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination at the earliest. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers,” said the airline in a statement.
The Ahmedabad to London flight, AI 159, was scheduled to be the first departure following last week’s fatal crash. It replaced the retired flight number AI 171 as a mark of respect to the victims.
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Full List of Cancelled Flights Includes Routes to Europe, Gulf, and US
Here is the complete list of Air India international flights cancelled on Tuesday:
- AI915 – Delhi to Dubai – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- AI153 – Delhi to Vienna – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- AI143 – Delhi to Paris – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- AI159 – Ahmedabad to London – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- AI170 – London to Amritsar – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- AI133 – Bengaluru to London – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
- AI179 – Mumbai to San Francisco – Boeing 777
Additionally, flight AI 180 from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata faced a delay after encountering a technical snag during its stopover in Kolkata early Tuesday. The Boeing 777-200LR aircraft had landed in Kolkata at 12:45 am and was scheduled to depart for Mumbai at 2:00 am. However, due to a malfunction detected in the left engine, passengers were asked to deplane around 5:20 am.
The airline has not yet provided a timeline for when operations on these routes will resume but confirmed that all technical issues are under active resolution.
