Air India will likely be slicing down international flights on widebody plane that principally join lengthy haul and extremely lengthy haul locations by 15%, the airline mentioned late on Wednesday (June 18, 2025) night.
The choice was taken to mitigate the affect of the compounding circumstances ensuing from DGCA-ordered enhanced surveillance for Boeing 787 plane, geopolitical tensions in West Asua, evening curfew within the airspaces of many international locations in Europe and East Asia, and “the necessary cautious approach being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots”.
“The move will ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and minimise inconvenience to passengers,” Air India mentioned in an announcement. A big chunk of widebody plane are utilised for flights to the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, and in some circumstances shorter international routes as properly.
The cuts will likely be applied between now and June 20 and can proceed thereafter till no less than mid-July. The transfer will even assist the airline to have reserve plane availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions.
The airline has seen 83 flight cancellations on its Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 plane for the reason that crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, which was the primary time {that a} Boeing 787 Dreamliner was concerned in an accident any the place on the earth.
The airline provided its apology to passengers for the inconvenience. Passengers will likely be ready to reschedule at no further value, or search full refund.
On high of the surveillance order by the DGCA for Boeing 787s, the place 26 of the 33 plane up to now have been inspected, the airline has additionally determined to undertake enhanced security checks on its Boeing 777 fleet.
Published – June 18, 2025 11:11 pm IST
