Air India to partially resume international flights from August 1

Air India on Tuesday announced partial restoration of its international flights, which were curtailed under a “safety pause” post the AI171 crash, with some frequencies returning from August 1 and full restoration targeted by October 1.

 

The first phase of the restoration will begin on August 1 and continue through September. During this period, a new route will be introduced- a thrice-a-week flight between Ahmedabad and London Heathrow, replacing the current five-times-weekly Ahmedabad-London Gatwick service, the airline said in a statement.

 

“With the partial restoration, Air India will operate more than 525 international flights per week on 63 short, long and ultra-long-haul routes,” it said, adding that full restoration is planned from October 1. 

 

The announcement comes days after India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report on the June 12 crash.

 

The report revealed that both engine fuel switches on the Air India Boeing 787 had moved from RUN to CUTOFF seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad, causing a loss of thrust and the subsequent crash. The tragedy killed 241 people on board and 19 on the ground. The cause of the mid-air switch movement remains undetermined.

 

“Air India today announced the partial restoration of schedules that were reduced pursuant to its ‘Safety Pause’, taken following the tragic accident of AI171 on June 12, 2025,” the airline said.

 

“That pause enabled Air India to perform additional precautionary checks on its Boeing 787 aircraft as well as accommodating longer flying times arising from airspace closures over Pakistan and the Middle East,” it noted. 

 

The airline will also reinstate flights on several curtailed routes. From July 16, all 24 weekly flights between Delhi and London Heathrow will operate as scheduled. Starting August 1, Delhi-Zurich will increase from four to five weekly flights, while Delhi-Tokyo Haneda will resume its full seven-weekly schedule. Delhi-Seoul Incheon will return to five weekly flights from September 1.

 

However, some routes will continue with reductions. From August 1, Bengaluru-London Heathrow will drop from six to four weekly flights. Delhi-Paris will be cut from 12 to seven weekly flights and Delhi-Milan from four to three from July 16.

 

Other European routes like Delhi-Copenhagen, Delhi-Vienna, and Delhi-Amsterdam will remain below full frequency until September, with Amsterdam scheduled to return to daily service on August 1.

 

In North America, multiple routes will operate fewer weekly flights through September. Delhi–Washington remains at three weekly flights, while Delhi-Chicago will operate three weekly flights in July and four weekly in August. Delhi-San Francisco, Delhi–Toronto, Delhi–Vancouver, and Delhi-New York (JFK and Newark) will also continue at reduced frequencies. Mumbai-New York JFK will drop to six weekly flights from August 1.

 

Flights to Australia are similarly affected. Both Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney remain reduced to five times weekly. In Africa, Delhi-Nairobi has resumed service at three weekly flights until August 31, but will be suspended for the entire month of September.

 

Air India confirmed that four routes will remain suspended until September 30- Amritsar-London Gatwick, Goa (Mopa)-London Gatwick, Bengaluru-Singapore, and Pune-Singapore.

 

“As the schedule reductions taken as part of the Safety Pause had been implemented until July 31 and the restoration to full operation is being phased, some services initially planned to operate between August 1 and September 30 will be removed from the schedule,” the airline stated.

 

“Air India is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer re-booking on alternative flights or a full refund, as per their preference,” it added.