Air India cuts 15% of international flights on wide-body aircraft

Air India has announced a 15 percent reduction in its international wide-body aircraft operations until mid-July.

The Tata Group-owned company has been grappling with operational disruptions due to enhanced safety checks after its London-bound plane crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing all but one passengers on board.

The private airliner said they were also facing disruptions due to the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and night curfew in the airspace of countries in Europe and East Asia.

"Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on wide-body aircraft by 15 percent for the next few weeks," a statement issued yesterday evening by Air India said.

The reduction will be implemented between "now and 20 June" and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July, the statement said.

Air India and Air India Express operate over 1,000 flights daily.

Since the crash of Air India's London Gatwick-bound Boeing 787-8 plane on June 12, where 241 of the 242 people on board were killed, at least 83 international flights of the airline have been cancelled in the last six days.

The airline also apologised to passengers who would be impacted by the temporary curtailment of overseas flights, according to the statement.

The passengers affected by the flight curtailment will be informed in advance, Air India said, adding that it would make its best efforts to accommodate them on alternate flights.

Passengers will be offered a choice to reschedule their travel without any cost or a full refund, it added.

Air India also said investigating authorities are continuing their efforts to find out the reasons behind the June 12 accident.

Besides, the carrier will carry out enhanced safety checks for Boeing 777 planes as a matter of added precaution.

On June 13, India's civil aviation sector regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced safety inspections of Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 planes in the wake of the Ahmedabad crash.

"Out of total 33 aircraft (operated by Air India), inspections have been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days," the airline said.