Air India cancels Ahmedabad-London flight over aircraft unavailability

Air India's Ahmedabad-London flight AI-159 cancelled over unavailability of the aircraft; this marks fourth Air India flight disruption in 24 hours

(This story has been updated with Air India statement)

 

An Air India flight scheduled to depart from Ahmedabad to London on Tuesday was cancelled over unavailability of the aircraft.

 

Flight AI159, which had earlier arrived from Delhi, was expected to resume services on the Ahmedabad-London route. This would have been the first such flight since the recent tragic crash in Ahmedabad.

 

The airline, in a statement, said, "Flight AI159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick has been cancelled today due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft, and not due to any technical snag as claimed." 

 

According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft assigned to operate the route was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — the same model that was involved in the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad in which 265 people were killed.

 

The aircraft was slated for departure at 1:10 pm on June 17. Air India confirmed that affected passengers will be provided refunds. This marks the fourth cancellation involving an Air India aircraft in the past 24 hours.

 

An Air India spokesperson said, "We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by the passengers. Consequently, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar of June 17 stands cancelled." 

   

 

Recent incidents involving Air India flights

 

Earlier on Tuesday, Air India flight AI-180 from San Francisco to Mumbai encountered an engine-related technical issue during a scheduled halt at Kolkata, prompting a precautionary deplaning of passengers.

 

On Monday, flight AI-315, a Dreamliner operating from Hong Kong to Delhi, was forced to return soon after take-off due to a suspected technical problem. On the same day, an Air India Express service from Delhi to Ranchi was also diverted back to Delhi following a suspected snag. 

 

  On June 13, Air India flight AI-379, operating from Phuket to Delhi with 156 passengers on board, had to turn back mid-flight following a bomb threat. The plane landed safely, and a thorough security screening was carried out before passengers were allowed to disembark.

 

Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad

 

On June 12, Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after departing from Ahmedabad, following a Mayday call from the pilot. The tragedy claimed 241 of the 242 lives on board, with a total of 265 bodies recovered — including casualties from the BJ Medical College Hostel located near the crash site.

 

One passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has initiated an investigation and has retrieved the black box from the wreckage. In the wake of the disaster, the Tata Group announced a compensation of ₹1 crore for the families of each victim.