Air India Cancels 8 Flights for Safety Maintenance

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Air India Cancels 8 Flights Amid Enhanced Maintenance Post-Safety Review

Prime Highlights

Air India cancels eight domestic and overseas flights on June 20 due to ongoing fleet maintenance and operational re-tuning.

The carrier is carrying out safety trials following a recent plane crash and on-going DGCA regulatory orders.

Key Facts

Flights to and from Dubai, Melbourne, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad were cancelled.

The cancellations are part of a complete exercise for enhanced safety and adherence to aviation laws.

Key Background

After a June 12 crash where Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner was the aircraft involved, the airline doubled up on safety and maintenance practices. As per DGCA guidelines, Air India started intensive checks on its widebody fleet with special emphasis on Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft.

Eight scheduled flights—four international and four domestic—were canceled on June 20 in the course of upgrading safety. These are major routes such as Delhi–Melbourne (round trip), Dubai–Chennai, Dubai–Hyderabad, Pune–Delhi, Ahmedabad–Delhi, and Hyderabad–Mumbai. The airline has cited the cancellation of these flights due to “improved maintenance and operational reasons,” and its priority was highest safety and compliance.

Air India suspended a section of its widebody aircraft and reduced overseas capacity by up to 15% since the June 12 crash. Cash-strapped and operationally, the action was taken so that passenger safety is ensured and space for scheduled checks is created. Around 80+ foreign flights were affected since the crash.

Apart from this, Air India has also cancelled flights on several international sectors until mid-July, including priority ones like Delhi–Toronto, Delhi–Chicago, and Goa–London. Flexible rebooking, rescheduling, and refund are being provided to the passengers.

The organisation has also been affected by issues like Middle Eastern airspace disruption that increase the difficulty of planning flights and lead to increased chances of crew fatigue. The DGCA instructed all airports to modify passenger facilities like seating, snacks, and redressal of grievances in case of delay.

Despite periodic interruptions, aircraft routine and operation safety are the highest priorities for Air India in the long term. Through ongoing monitoring, the company can most effectively increase capacity in steps and acclimatize to aircraft routine.