After crash, Air India woes continue: Why has airline cancelled multiple flights in past 72 hours?

Air India has cancelled multiple flights over the past 72 hours, including seven on Tuesday alone. The development comes against the backdrop of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordering the airline to perform one-time safety checks. Why have so many flights been called off? read more
Early Tuesday, Air India flight AI180 — flying from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata — faced a technical snag in its left engine, forcing all passengers to deboard. File image/PTI
Since the Ahmedabad plane crash, India has been witnessing turmoil in the skies.
Air India has cancelled multiple flights over the past 72 hours including seven on Tuesday alone.
The development comes in the backdrop of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordering Air India to perform one-time safety checks.
The aviation regulator has ordered exhaustive maintenance checks on 787-8/9 variants equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests and engine fuel-related checks.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
But why all these flights being cancelled? What do we know?
Let's take a closer look:
Air India
Air India on Tuesday called off seven international flights.
These included the AI-915 (Delhi–Dubai), AI-153 (Delhi–Vienna), AI-143 (Delhi–Paris), AI-159 (Ahmedabad–London), AI-133 (Bengaluru–London) and AI-170 (London–Amritsar) and AI179 (Mumbai-San Francisco).
Of these, six were Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners – the same model involved in the Ahmedabad plane crash that left over 270 dead.
Air India cited multiple reasons for the cancellations including technical issues (AI-143 to Paris) and aircraft unavailability (AI-159 to London).
'Flight AI 143 from Delhi to Paris on 17 June has been cancelled. The mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue which is being presently addressed. However, in view of the flight coming under the restrictions on night operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, the said flight has been cancelled… We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers. Consequently, flight AI 142 from Paris to Delhi on 17 June 2025 also stands cancelled,' Air India said in a statement.
The AI179 to San Francisco suffered a technical snag during a stopover at Kolkata – following which all passengers were deboarded.
On Monday, the airline called off the AI-2493 flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
The development comes in the backdrop of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordering Air India to perform one-time safety checks. Reuters
This occurred after the crew reached their Flight Duty Time limit after operational delays.
'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,' Air India said in a statement.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The DGCA has called an urgent meeting with representatives from the airline on Tuesday evening.
The DGCA Director General is expected to chair the meeting.
On Monday, AI-315 from Hong Kong to Delhi turned back shortly after take-off.
This occurred after a technical glitch.
'We don't want to continue further,' the pilot told air traffic control (ATC).
An Air India flight to Ranchi also returned to Delhi after a technical issue.
An Air India flight from Phuket to New Delhi returned to Thailand after a bomb threat.
All 156 passengers on flight AI-379 are safe.
Air India on Monday also cancelled flights to Sydney and Melbourne.
'The cancellations are due to a combination of factors including enhanced inspection which took longer time than expected and closure of the Iranian airspace,' an Air India official told passengers.
Air India has 33 Boeing 787s in its fleet.
IndiGo, other airlines
Meanwhile, IndiGo flight 6E 2706 from Muscat to Delhi via Kochi made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport after a bomb threat.
'All passengers have been deboarded, investigation is underway, nothing suspicious has been found so far,' DCP Nagpur Lohit Matani was quoted as saying.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Also on Tuesday, two Dreamliners operated by Lufthansa and British Airways – flying from Frankfurt and London to Hyderabad and Chennai respectively – were forced to turn around and land at their airports of origin.
The Lufthansa flight was forced to make a U-turn over a bomb threat.
A passenger on board said that the plane had 'landed safely', with the pilot apologising for the 'inconvenience caused' by the delay due to matters 'beyond their control'.
With inputs from agencies

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Hans India

32 minutes ago

• Hans India

Air India to cut 38 international flights per week

New Delhi: Air India has said that it will cut 38 international flights per week and suspend services on three overseas routes 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 of reducing flights on 18 international routes 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%. "These reductions will be effective from June 21, 2025, and last until at least July 15, 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 18 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 Friday, through to at least mid-July, Wilson said.

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asks officials to improve refund, registration of GST

File photo: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman (Picture credit: ANI) NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked senior tax officials to prepare plans to improve parameters for GST registration, refund processing, and grievance redressal. During an interaction with senior officials under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, FM also asked officials to speed up processing of GST and customs refunds, as well as reduce dwell time at ports, airports, and inland container depots for import and export consignments. She noted that faster cargo clearance is crucial to enhancing India's global trade competitiveness. FM also called for the speedy closure of investigations and sought a detailed analysis of detection and recovery so that gap between the two can be reduced. "At the same time, the finance minister emphasised the need for preventing tax evasion and wrongful input tax credits claims," said an official statement after FM's meeting with principal chief commissioners and directors general of CBIC. She asked for the GST registration process to be made "easier, seamless, and more transparent" through use of technology and risk-based parameters. To reduce registration-related rejections and delays, she also suggested an outreach campaign. Emphasising taxpayer trust, she called for a targeted and sustained focus on grievance redressal, ensuring the timely resolution of queries and complaints through improved systems and accountability. Taking note of pending disciplinary matters, the minister directed that disciplinary proceedings against the officials at different levels be concluded expeditiously in a time-bound manner. CBIC was also asked to fill all vacant posts at the earliest across various levels to strengthen field formations and enhance administrative efficiency. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now

Time of India

2 hours ago

• Time of India

RBI's jumbo rate cut aims to spur spending & investment

RBI MUMBAI: RBI aimed to signal businesses that cheap funds will be available with its double-barrel rate cut earlier this month to boost growth through spending and investment. According to minutes of the monetary policy committee's meeting, the interest rate cut was triggered by signs that companies were deferring investment plans despite rising capacity utilisation even as inflation was expected to undershoot. Continued uncertainty had pushed top executives into what central bank officials described as a 'zone of inaction'. The MPC voted for an unexpected 50-basis-point (100bps = 1 percentage point) cut in the repo rate or the rate at which RBI lends to banks. The MPC also voted to change the policy stance to 'neutral' from 'accommodative' which RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said gave it room to 'cut, pause or hike rate' depending on evolving conditions. . 'It is expected that the front-loaded rate action along with certainty on the liquidity front would send a clear signal to economic agents, thereby supporting consumption and investment through lower cost of borrowing,' the governor said in the minutes of the June 6-9 MPC meeting. The meeting also offered a glimpse into the policy stance of deputy governor Poonam Gupta, who joined the central bank in April. Her comments suggest a dovish leaning within the current policy context. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What She Did Mid-Air Left Passengers Speechless medalmerit Learn More Undo Gupta underscored the importance of monetary support for accelerating growth, and said policy must help the economy 'attain and even surpass past rates of growth'. She voted for a 50bps cut, citing the need to 'foster policy certainty and faster transmission'. She also flagged the possibility of inflation falling below target. Internal member Rajiv Ranjan also backed a 50bps cut, saying the decline in inflation was sharper than expected, giving the central bank room to focus on growth. He said larger cuts in an expansionary phase are often needed to have the same impact on output as smaller hikes during contractionary periods. According to him, front-loading sends a stronger signal and speeds up transmission. 'It would be appropriate to provide some certainty on the domestic rate and liquidity front so that agents do not delay and postpone their decisions. Literature suggests that uncertainty plays a role in forming the 'zone of inaction',' Ranjan said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now