Air India on Tuesday canceled its seven International flights, including Ahmedabad-London and Delhi-Paris due to varied reasons, including unavailability of aircraft.
This series of cancellations of Air India International flights came days after an Air India flight to London, using the same type of Boeing aircraft, crashed in Ahmedabad moments after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.
The airline also canceled its London-Amritsar, Delhi-Dubai, Bengaluru-London and Mumbai-San Francisco flights.
As per Air India’s website, the cancelled flights are AI 915 (Delhi-Dubai), AI 153 (Delhi-Vienna), AI 143 (Delhi-Paris), AI 159 (Ahmedabad-London), AI 133 (Bengaluru-London) and AI 170 (London-Amritsar).
Flight AI-159 – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – from Ahmedabad to London-Gatwick was cancelled on Tuesday due to the unavailability of 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 Air India.
The aircraft, which was scheduled to depart at 1.10 pm, was grounded hours before take-off after routine pre-flight checks flagged the issue.
The abrupt cancellations caused chaos at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport with scores of international passengers stranded, many of them already reeling from anxiety sparked by last week’s tragedy.
“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 on 17th June stands cancelled,” said Air India.
Air India also announced the cancellation of Flight AI 143 from Delhi to Paris, after mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue “which is being presently addressed”.
Consequently, “flight AI 142 from Paris to Delhi on June 18, 2025, also stands cancelled”, the carrier said in a statement.
“In view of the flight coming under the restrictions on night operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport, the said flight has been cancelled. We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and are making alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination at the earliest,” the statement read.
The carrier further stated that they are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted for by the passengers.
Meanwhile, an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata was also halted at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata early Tuesday morning after a technical snag was detected in one of its engines.
The Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai, with a scheduled stop in Kolkata, was grounded on Tuesday after a technical issue was suspected during a routine post-landing inspection. All passengers were safely deplaned, and some have been accommodated in a hotel in Kolkata.
According to sources, the Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also summoned an urgent virtual meeting with Air India and Air India Express officials.