New Delhi: In a ripple effect stemming from the recent Ahmedabad aviation incident, Air India has initiated a sweeping series of cancellations, grounding a substantial portion of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. Over the past week, a staggering 66 flights utilizing the advanced wide-body aircraft have been scrubbed, including six international services on Tuesday alone, signaling a rigorous, albeit disruptive, push for enhanced operational oversight.
The unprecedented scale of these cancellations, which saw the inaugural Ahmedabad-London flight (AI-159) among those grounded, is part of a broad directive aimed at bolstering aviation safety. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has clarified that this extensive flight disruption is a proactive measure within a comprehensive drive to fortify safety checks across the airline's operations. While the DGCA had previously flagged concerns regarding maintenance-related anomalies, it emphatically states that the current grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners is not a consequence of any discovered safety flaws during expert inspections. According to the aviation watchdog, the aircraft type itself has shown no inherent issues in assessments conducted to date.
Among the key international arteries impacted by this operational reshuffling are crucial connections such as Delhi-Dubai (AI 915), Delhi-Vienna (AI 153), Delhi-Paris (AI 143), Bengaluru-London (AI 133), and the London-Amritsar service (AI 170). The majority of these routes are typically serviced by Air India's fleet of 33 Boeing 787-8/9 Dreamliners.
Air India, in its official statement, has attributed the cancellations not to a direct technical malfunction, but to a confluence of factors including specialized internal checks, dynamic aircraft availability due to these intensified inspections, and prevailing airspace congestion. The carrier assures that these measures are part of a broader commitment to passenger safety and operational integrity in the wake of recent events.