Air India temporarily cuts flights amid safety concerns

NEW DELHI:
Air India has announced temporary reductions in its flight operations, cutting 118 weekly narrow-body flights across 19 routes and suspending services on three key routes until at least July 15, 2025. The Tata Group-owned airline said the move was a proactive measure to ensure operational stability and reduce last-minute passenger disruptions.

The suspended routes include Bengaluru-Singapore, Pune-Singapore, and Mumbai-Bagdogra (AI551/552), affecting seven weekly flights. The airline also confirmed reduced flight frequency on prominent domestic sectors such as Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Mumbai. These adjustments follow Air India’s earlier decision to cut international wide-body operations by 15 percent due to ongoing safety inspections.

This operational reshuffle comes in the wake of last week’s fatal crash of flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which killed 241 people and became the deadliest aviation disaster in a decade. The aircraft was en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick when it crashed shortly after takeoff.

Safety inspections have since been completed on 26 of Air India’s 33 Dreamliner aircraft, which have been cleared for service. Inspections are still pending for the remaining Dreamliners and additional checks are being scheduled for the Boeing 777 fleet.

Air India stated that the temporary cuts, though affecting less than 5 percent of its narrow-body network, are necessary to ensure “network-wide operational stability, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers.” Investigations into the AI171 crash are ongoing, with authorities examining technical faults and operational lapses as possible causes.