MUMBAI, June 19: Air India on Thursday said flights will be reduced on 16 international routes and suspended on 3 overseas destinations between June 21 and July 15.

The Tata Group-owned airline, grappling with disruptions following the fatal plane crash on June 12 in Ahmedabad, said the objective is to restore schedule stability and minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers.

The detailed announcement comes a day after the carrier said it would temporarily reduce flights operated with wide-body planes by 15 per cent.

"These reductions will be effective from June 21, 2025, and last until at least 15 July 2025," the airline said in a statement.

Services will be suspended on Delhi-Nairobi, Amritsar-London (Gatwick) and Goa (Mopa)-London (Gatwick) till July 15.

While the Delhi-Nairobi route has four flights per week, the Amritsar-London (Gatwick) and Goa (Mopa)-London (Gatwick) routes each have three flights a week, according to the airline.

Besides, flights will be reduced on 16 international routes connecting cities in North America, Europe, Australia and the Far East.

The routes in North America, which will see reduced frequencies, are Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-Vancouver, Delhi-San Francisco, Delhi-Chicago and Delhi-Washington.

"The reductions arise from the decision to voluntarily undertake enhanced pre-flight safety checks, as well as accommodate additional flight durations arising from airspace closures in the Middle East," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson in a message to flyers said that as a confidence-building measure, the airline has elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks on its Boeing 787 fleet and, as an added measure, its Boeing 777 aircraft for the time being.

Given the time these additional checks will consume and the potential impact on schedules, Air India has decided to reduce its international wide-body flights by around 15 per cent starting June 20, through to at least mid-July, Wilson said.

The routes in Europe with reduced flight services include Delhi-London Heathrow, Bengaluru-London Heathrow, Amristsar-Birmingham and Delhi-Birmingham, Delhi-Paris, Delhi-Milan, Delhi-Copenhagen, Delhi-Vienna and Delhi-Amsterdam.

Similarly, services on Delhi-Melbourne, Delhi-Sydney, Delhi-Tokyo Haneda and Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) have also been reduced as part of the revised schedule.

On Thursday, Air India again apologised to the passengers affected by these curtailments.

"Regrettably, the time required to perform these enhanced safety checks, along with the application of extra caution, external factors like airspace closures in Iran and the Middle East as well as night-time restrictions at some international airports, along with normal airline technical issues, has led to a higher-than-usual number of cancellations on our long-haul network in the past few days," the Air India chief said in his message.

"This (reduction in services) will also allow us to have more backup aircraft ready to handle any unexpected issues. We understand that this temporary reduction to our schedule may affect your travel plans, and we're deeply sorry for any inconvenience," he said in the message.

The airline said it is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer re-accommodation on alternative flights, complimentary rescheduling or full refunds as per their preference.

"We understand that this temporary reduction to our schedule may affect your travel plans, and we're deeply sorry for any inconvenience," Wilson said.

After Crash, Air India Cuts International Services On Wide-Body Planes By 15%

NEW DELHI, June 18: Air India has responded to the crash of its Ahmedabad-London Boeing Dreamliner aircraft with a slew of safety and prevention measures that includes massive safety and cutting down on the use of its wide-body planes for international flights by 15 per cent. The cuts will be implemented between now and 20 June and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July.

In a statement today, the company said of their 33 Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft, the "Enhanced Safety Inspection" mandated by civil aviation watchdog DGCA have been completed on 26. These, Air India said, have been "cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days".

"As a matter of added precaution, Air India will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet," the carrier said.

There have been multiple cancellations of international flights in view of the "geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, the ongoing enhanced safety inspections, and also the necessary cautious approach being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots, the company said.

Over the last six days, 83 flights have been cancelled.

"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 statement read.

On June 12, an Air India Boeing 787-8 plane from Ahmedabad to London crashed soon after take-off, killing 241 people on board and more than 30 on the ground. It had been the worst air crash in the country in decades.

"Air India remains in mourning on the tragic loss of 241 passengers and crew members aboard flight AI171. Our hearts are with the families, loved ones, and communities affected by the accident," the statement read.

241 killed in Ahmedabad plane crash; only one survivor

AHMEDABAD, June 12: An Air India plane, bound for London, crashed in a locality moments after takeoff from the Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday afternoon, in one of the worst aviation tragedies for India.

Among the 242 passengers and crew members was former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who was confirmed to have died in the plane crash. Speaking to reporters, BJP's Gujarat chief confirmed the demise of the former Gujarat chief minister.

A British national - Vishwash Kumar Ramesh - was identified as the sole survivor of the plane crash, while the rest 241 passengers died in the deadly accident. The 40-year-old, who was in seat 11A, was limping after the crash and was rescued by locals.

The British High Commission in India said it is working with local authorities to urgently establish facts about the London-bound plane that crashed soon after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.

"We are aware that a flight from Ahmedabad to London has crashed near Ahmedabad airport. We are working with local authorities to urgently establish the facts and provide support. Our thoughts are with all those affected," the British High Commission said in a brief statement on its official X handle.

Air India To Drop Turkish Maintenance Service, Cites 'Public Sentiment'

NEW DELHI, June 1: Air India is set to wind up its association with Turkish Technic, a leading global aviation service provider, that provides comprehensive maintenance for Boeing 777 aircraft in the airline's fleet.

"If there is a concern about continuing to do business in this fashion, then we'll find alternatives," said Campbell Wilson, Air India's CEO and MD, who confirmed that the airline was ending its association with Turkish Technic. "I think we want to respect public sentiment."

The Air India announcement comes within days of the Civil Aviation Ministry telling IndiGo, India's largest airline, that it will not be allowed to operate two aircraft that it has wet-leased from Turkish Airlines beyond three months. Earlier, the government had cancelled the security clearance of Celebi, a Turkey-linked aviation ground handling services company that has been present in nine airports in the country.

The government's moves are a reaction to Turkey's support for Pakistan, which New Delhi has targeted with strikes on terror centres and air bases during Operation Sindoor. Turkish-made drones were also used by Pakistan in military operations against India. New Delhi's message is clear - there cannot, presently, be any 'business as usual' arrangement with Turkish companies given Ankara's support for Pakistan.

Explaining the tie-up with Turkish Technic, Wilson said, "We have committed some aircraft which are already under maintenance. And for alternatives that are about to go into maintenance, we're looking for alternative providers to perform the service instead."

Maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Air India's long-haul Boeing 777 fleet are presently carried out at the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), a public sector undertaking which belongs to the government. Some aircraft are also being sent to Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

"AIESL was really the only game in town. And they don't have the capacity to perform the basic maintenance as well as the rehabilitation and retrofit that we're currently undertaking. So we've had to send aircraft out of India and some to AIESL, into many locations."

The recent military hostilities between India and Pakistan have also had a direct bearing on Air India's long-haul services. With airspace over Pakistan shut to Indian-owned airlines, some of Air India's flights to North America are having to operate on different, longer routes. Some non-stop services have now become one-stop flights to refuel aircraft.

"There is a significant additional cost," says Wilson. "And ultimately, it does get passed on to the consumer, whether it's because there are fewer seats available to be offered and so the remaining seats have higher demand, or we just pass through the actual cost increase that we're incurring. So we all hope that this normalises as quickly as possible, but it's out of our hands."

Wilson, though, disagrees with suggestions that the airspace ban over Pakistan has significantly disrupted Air India's long-haul offerings. "So I'd push back on that. I think there are only three cities that we're not currently operating nonstop. Every other flight that we have previously operated is continuing to operate nonstop. So the customer proposition of a convenient nonstop service by an Indian carrier to North America remains."

That said, some flights are taking longer -- between an hour to three hours, depending on the city where the aircraft is headed. "But that is still much more convenient than transiting through somewhere in between," says Campbell.