Week after AI-171 crash, Air India announces 15% cut in international widebody aircraft
Air India currently has a fleet of 33 Boeing 787s, all of which are widebody aircraft.
New Delhi: Days after the crash of its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad claimed the lives of 241 on board, Air India Wednesday reduced its international services on widebody aircraft by 15 percent. 'This move to ensure stability of operations, better efficiency and minimise inconvenience to passengers,' the carrier said in a statement.
Six international Boeing Dreamliner 787-8s operated by Air India were cancelled Tuesday. Additionally, an Air India flight from Hong Kong to Delhi had to reportedly return to Hong Kong due to a technical issue. Passengers were also deboarded in Kolkata in a San Francisco-Mumbai flight on account of a technical snag reported during its scheduled halt.
Moreover, two Boeing 787 Dreamliners operated by Lufthansa and British Airways also were forced to return to their airport or origin. These were flying from Frankfurt and London to Hyderabad and Chennai, respectively.
On Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) held a high-level meeting with senior officials of Air India and Air India Express during which the aviation regulator raised 'concerns regarding recent maintenance-related issues reported by Air India' and 'advised' the carrier 'to strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays resulting from such issues and strictly adhere to regulations'.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation in a statement also said: 'The recent surveillance conducted on Air India's Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns. The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards.'
On 12 June, the London-bound Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport. Of the 242 people including 12 crew members on board, 241 died in the crash. The crash also killed those on the ground including medical students of the B.J. Medical College, taking the death toll to at least 270.
'The investigating authorities are continuing their efforts to find out the reasons for the accident. The DGCA had mandated 'Enhanced Safety Inspection' across Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. Out of the total 33 aircrafts, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days. The fact that 26 aircraft have been cleared gives reassurance in the safety measures and procedures that we follow,' Air India said in its statement issued late Wednesday.
It added that it will also undertake 'enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet'.
'Due to 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, there have been certain disruptions in our international operations over the last 6 days leading to a total of 83 cancellations,' the statement said.
The airline added that cuts will be implemented between now and 20 June and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July.
'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 widebody aircraft by 15% for the next few weeks,' the statement said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also read: Behind the scenes of Gujarat's Air India crash response—4 IAS officers, 36 DNA experts & 230 teams
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