Air India to Resume International Flights from Aug 1 After AI 171 Crash

Air India announced that it will begin the phased restoration of its international wide-body flight schedule from August 1, following a nearly 15% reduction in services after the tragic crash of Flight AI 171 on June 12. Full restoration of operations is expected by October.

The airline had voluntarily initiated a “safety pause” in its long-haul operations after the Ahmedabad–London Gatwick flight, operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people—241 of the 242 onboard and 19 on the ground.

The announcement comes just days after the release of the preliminary investigation report into the accident. The report identified the immediate trigger: both engine fuel control switches had moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' in quick succession moments after take-off. Investigators are now focused on understanding why the switches transitioned.

The report did not attribute any fault to Air India, nor did it issue any safety advisories for other operators of the Boeing 787 or its GE engines.

Following the Ahmedabad air crash, Air India undertook enhanced safety inspections of its Boeing 787 fleet as mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In addition to these directives, the airline also initiated its own voluntary checks and adopted a more cautious approach to flight operations. This proactive stance led to a series of delays and cancellations in the week following the incident.

Operational challenges were further compounded by airspace closures over Pakistan and parts of West Asia, along with night curfews at several international airports. Taking these factors into account, the Tata Group-owned airline announced on June 18 that it would temporarily reduce its international wide-body flight operations by 15 per cent.

“The safety pause allowed Air India to conduct additional precautionary inspections on its Boeing 787 fleet and adjust for longer flight durations caused by airspace closures over Pakistan and the Middle East,” the airline said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that the partial resumption of services will begin from August 1, with select frequencies being restored compared to July levels. Full restoration of the international wide-body schedule is planned for October 1, 2025.

As part of the phased restoration, Air India’s international schedule will see a few changes from its earlier configuration. Notably, the five-times-a-week Ahmedabad–London Gatwick service will be replaced by a thrice-weekly service to London Heathrow starting August 1.

Other key routes are also being restored. The Delhi–London Heathrow route will return to 24 weekly flights, while the Delhi–Zurich service will resume with five weekly flights. The Delhi–Tokyo Haneda and Delhi–Seoul routes, which had each seen a reduction of two weekly flights, will be reinstated to their original frequencies of seven and five flights per week, respectively.

Additionally, the airline is reinstating its thrice-weekly Delhi–Nairobi service through the end of August. However, this route will be temporarily suspended for the entire month of September.

Most other routes that saw reduced frequencies following the crash will continue operating at their current levels until the end of September, Air India said. However, a few routes are facing additional cuts.

The Delhi–Paris service will operate seven times a week, down from 12. Delhi–Milan will run three times weekly instead of four. Both Delhi–New York (JFK) and Mumbai–New York (JFK) routes will see frequencies reduced to six flights per week, down from seven, while Delhi–Newark will drop to four weekly flights from five.

Meanwhile, the temporary suspension of three routes—Goa (Mopa)–London Gatwick, Bengaluru–Singapore, and Pune–Singapore, will continue through the end of September.

Air India stated that since the schedule reductions under the Safety Pause were in effect until July 31, 2025, and the full restoration of operations is being carried out in phases, certain flights originally planned between August 1 and September 30, 2025, will now be removed from the schedule.

The airline added that it is proactively reaching out to affected passengers to offer rebooking options on alternate flights or a full refund, based on their preference. “We apologise for the inconvenience,” the airline said in its statement.

Also Read: “Why Did You Cut Off?”: Pilot’s Last Words Before Air India Jet Crashed, Killing 260