Air India announced on Wednesday that it has decided to reduce its international services on widebody aircraft by 15% for the next few weeks. The cuts will be implemented between now and June 20 and are expected to continue until at least mid-July.
The Tata Group-owned airline's decision comes a week after an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (flight number AI171) bound for London, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday. Only one person survived the crash.
Air India cited multiple reasons for the disruptions in its international operations over the past six days, which have led to a total of 83 flight cancellations. These include geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, night curfews in the airspaces of several countries in Europe and East Asia, ongoing enhanced safety inspections, and a cautious approach being taken by both engineering staff and pilots.
“Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, and to ensure operational stability, 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 cuts will be implemented between now and June 20 and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July. This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to manage any unplanned disruptions,” the airline said.
It added, “Air India apologises to the passengers affected by these curtailments and will inform them in advance. We will make our best efforts to accommodate them on alternate flights. Passengers will also be offered the option to reschedule their travel at no additional cost or receive a full refund, as per their choice. The revised schedule of our international services, effective from June 20, 2025, will be shared shortly.”
Earlier, aviation regulator DGCA had mandated ‘Enhanced Safety Inspections’ across Air India’s Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. Of the total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26, which have been cleared for service. The remaining inspections are expected to be completed in the coming days.
“The fact that 26 aircraft have been cleared is reassuring and reflects the robustness of our safety measures and procedures. As an added precaution, Air India will also undertake enhanced safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet. Going forward, we will continue to cooperate with authorities—namely the AAIB, DGCA, and MoCA—to ensure the safety of our passengers, crew, and aircraft, which remains our highest priority,” the airline stated.
Air India’s decision to cut its international flights during the peak summer season is likely to benefit its main competitor IndiGo, as well as other global carriers that have been actively expanding their international presence from India.
