NEW DELHI: The last of the 30 aircraft that Tata Group had inherited from government-owned Air India has been brought back to life after being grounded for nearly six years. The Boeing 777 300 ER made its maiden flight from Mumbai to New Delhi on Sunday.
Sources said that when Air India returned to the Tata Group, it had inherited a legacy of 113 aircraft. "Of them, 30 aircraft, both widebody and narrow body ones, had remained grounded and untouched for years," said a source.
The airline embarked on a massive revival exercise.
"This specific wide body flight, revived in the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility of AIESL Nagpur, is of particular significance for us. While the average age of the rest of the grounded aircraft was around 3.5 years, this aircraft bearing the registration number VT-ALL was grounded for six long years. For us, the the final chapter of this massive revival effort has been completed now," a source said.
Elaborating on the revival, another official said, "VT-ALL had been grounded since February 2020 due to multiple unserviceable systems and ageing components. In April 2025, Air India initiated efforts to bring it back to full operational life to support long haul expansion. The aircraft entered the AIESL Nagpur MRO facility in May 2025, beginning an intensive, nose to tail restoration programme."
Over 3,000 components had to be sourced from different countries to revive the plane from nose to tail.
"VT-ALL was being revived during the period when the world has seen a general shortage in supply parts. They had to be sourced from across the globe. We had almost given up on the plane," he said.
It also involved replacement of major assemblies including the engines, APU, inlet and fan cowls, and thrust reverser cowls. A full systems rebuild covering air-conditioning, landing gear, hydraulics, oxygen, avionics, and engine systems was carried out.
"Each part replacement, system restoration, and structural repair underwent stringent testing, documentation, and regulatory oversight by DGCA, with technical guidance from Boeing. Skilled engineering teams worked nearly round the clock to bring the aircraft back to life," the source added.
Another major task was the completion of over 4,000 maintenance tasks including 80 mandated modifications such as the complex Longeron Modification, a crucial structural reinforcement.
The revival of VT ALL was driven by seamless coordination across Air India’s base maintenance, planning, technical services, procurement and supply chain and quality assurance teams. Their combined effort ensured the aircraft was restored in record time and to the highest safety and performance standards.
VT-ALL has met with all the regulatory safety compliances in its path of restoration, including successfully completing the 'Test Flight' of the aircraft and received the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) - a mandatory certification of the safety parameters for an aircraft to commence regular operations.