Air India Begins Phased Return of International Flights Following Safety Review

Air India has initiated a gradual reinstatement of its international flight operations after a “Safety Pause” prompted by the tragic incident involving flight AI171 on June 12. The airline had previously suspended or reduced services across multiple routes to conduct thorough inspections of its Boeing 787 aircraft and to adjust to altered flight paths due to regional airspace closures. Partial services will recommence from August 1, with a full return to normal operations anticipated by October 1. Several key routes will see restored services or increased frequencies. Significant changes include the full restoration of 24 weekly flights on the Delhi-London (Heathrow) route, effective July 16. The Delhi-Zurich route will increase from 4 to 5 flights per week starting August 1. Full weekly frequencies will be reinstated on the Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda) and Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) routes by August and September, respectively. The Delhi-Amsterdam route will return to 7 flights per week from August 1. A new route between Ahmedabad and London (Heathrow) will operate three times weekly, replacing the current five-times-weekly Gatwick service. Additionally, Delhi-Nairobi services will operate three times a week until August 31, followed by a temporary suspension from September 1 to September 30. Over 15 routes will continue operating at reduced frequencies until the end of September, including flights between Bengaluru-London (Heathrow), Delhi-Paris, Delhi-Milan, Delhi-Copenhagen, Delhi-Vienna, and Amritsar-Birmingham. North American destinations, such as Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and New York (JFK and Newark), will also maintain reduced frequencies. The flights between Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney continue at 5x weekly. Four international routes will remain suspended until September 30, encompassing flights between Amritsar-London (Gatwick), Goa (Mopa)-London (Gatwick), Bengaluru-Singapore, and Pune-Singapore. Air India is contacting affected passengers to offer rebooking options or full refunds.