Renamed AI-171 among 13 Dreamliners affected in 1 day

At least 13 Air India Dreamliner flights, including one on the Ahmedabad-London route that was restarted after a fatal crash on June 12, were grounded due to technical or operational issues on Tuesday as regulatory checks and the closure of airspace on some sectors continued to disrupt the airline's schedules.

- Neha LM Tripathi

NEW DELHI:

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said 66 Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights -- the type of aircraft involved in the crash -- were cancelled by the airline since June 12, among 83 cancellations involving the airline's broader widebody fleet. On June 12, the airline operated 90 wide-body flights, out of which 50 were 787s. Out of these, six were cancelled, including five Dreamliners.

To be sure, such cancellations aren't new to the airline. According to figures presented in Parliament, Air India averaged around four cancellations per day due to technical or operational reasons in 2024, based on data till September.

The regulator held a high-level meeting with senior officials of Air India and Air India Express on Tuesday and stated the airlines are "currently operating over 1,000 flights daily across domestic and international sectors."

The airline was told by the aviation regulator to conduct enhanced safety checks on its fleet of Dreamliners after Thursday's crash, while teams of Indian, US, and UK investigators as well as those from Boeing and the engine-maker GE are in Ahmedabad to probe the reasons behind crash.